South Korean shares fall as volatility heightens in chipmaker stocks

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets: South Korean shares fell in a choppy session on Wednesday, as volatility heightened in chipmaker stocks on AI worries and growing concern over risky investment products. The benchmark KOSPI was down 161.84 points, or 2.11%, at 7,494.47 as of 0234 GMT. The index opened the session lower to fall as much as 4% and hit the lowest level since late May but later rebounded to rise 1.8%, before turning down again. South Korea’s finance minister agreed with other economic policymakers to closely monitor risk factors that could heighten stock market volatility, on worries about recently introduced single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Overnight, US semiconductor shares slumped, with Intel , Micron and AMD falling 9.7%, 4.7% and 6.5%, respectively. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also lost 4.7% as investors questioned whether AI-related spending could be sustained. Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 3.55%, while peer SK Hynix gained 1.23%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 4.07%. Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 2.50% and up 2.15%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 2.22% and drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 2.39%. Of the total 911 traded issues, 173 shares advanced, while 706 declined. Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 471.7 billion won ($311.68 million). The won was quoted at 1,513.8 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.13% higher than its previous close at 1,515.8. In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.09 point to 103.01. The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 3.6 basis points to 3.814%. The benchmark 10-year yield rose 5.3 basis points to 4.265%.