Seoul:South Korean stocks opened lower on Friday, influenced by overnight losses on Wall Street, as concerns about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom affected investor sentiment.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 177.31 points, or 2.99 percent, to 5,760.35 at the opening bell. This decline followed a 1.24 percent fall in the previous session, which was marked by profit-taking in heavyweight chip stocks, despite Samsung Electronics' report of record quarterly earnings.
Overnight, Wall Street experienced a retreat, primarily driven by a sell-off in technology shares. Google parent Alphabet saw a significant drop of more than 12 percent after its third-quarter revenue increased by 25 percent on-year to $127.58 billion but fell short of market expectations. This development raised concerns about returns on large-scale AI investments.
The Nasdaq Composite Index, which is heavily concentrated in technology stocks, decreased by 1.38 percent, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped by 1.4 percent, impacting sentiment towards South Korean chipmakers.