Kospi falls for second straight day on foreign selling
Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East and the AI trade contributed to the market's volatility.
A digital board inside the trading room of Hana Bank's main branch in Jung District, central Seoul, shows the Kospi closing 0.6 percent lower on Aug. 7.
YONHAP
Shares closed lower for a second straight session on Friday, weighed down by foreign selling after renewed tensions in the Middle East dampened investor sentiment.
The won rose against the dollar.
After opening 1.09 percent higher, the benchmark Kospi fell 37.61 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 6,258.77 after dropping as low as 6,158.73. Trade volume was light at 297.18 million shares worth 24.3 trillion won ($17.1 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 552 to 321.
The index plunged 4.58 percent in the previous session, dragged down mainly by losses in technology stocks. Foreign investors sold a net 858.07 billion won worth of stocks, while institutions and retail investors purchased a net 578.99 billion won and 266.98 billion won, respectively.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.85 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slipped 0.06 percent due to uncertainty over a possible agreement between the United States and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has reportedly threatened to deny U.S. and Israeli vessels access to the strategic waterway and require compensation from countries that it considers hostile before allowing them passage. Uncertainty surrounding the strategic waterway is expected to keep oil prices elevated, adding to volatility in a market already unsettled by concerns over the AI trade, analysts said.
In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.
Chip giant SK hynix dropped 4.88 percent to 1,422,000 won, top carmaker Hyundai Motor declined 1.12 percent to 395,500 won and Lotte Shopping plunged 12.93 percent to 99,700 won. Shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean backtracked 1.43 percent to 89,400 won, and national flag carrier Korean Air shed 1.27 percent to 27,150 won.
Among gainers, market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.22 percent to 231,000 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace climbed 4.08 percent to 1,097,000 won.
The won strengthened by 6.4 won from the previous day to stand at 1,417.70 won against the dollar as of 3:30 p.m.
Yonhap
