▲ A dealing room at Hana Bank in Seoul on June 11, 2026 (Yonhap)

(LEAD) stocks-open

(LEAD) Seoul shares open sharply lower on U.S. tech slide, Iran tensions

(ATTN: UPDATES with latest info throughout; CHANGES photo)

SEOUL, June 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started sharply lower Thursday, tracking an overnight tech slump on Wall Street fueled by woes over the valuation of artificial intelligence (AI) shares and escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.

After starting 2.86 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended losses, plunging 288.94 points, or 3.74 percent, to 7,441.88 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The KOSPI's steep fall was in line with major U.S. indexes' overnight losses led by a heavy tech sell-off.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.87 percent lower, the S&P 500 fell 1.62 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite shed 1.98 percent.

AI chip giant Nvidia dipped 3.73 percent, Broadcom slid 5.12 percent, Super Micro Computer tumbled 28 percent, and AMD dropped 4.86 percent, amid concerns over an AI bubble.

Market sentiment was also weighed down by news that the U.S. launched additional strikes against Iran, and the latter threatened to fire on any vessel attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which brewed concerns the two countries may reenter a full-scale war.

Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said the U.S. Consumer Price Index for May, key inflation data that drew investors' attention, was softer than expected, but was not enough to sooth concerns over a possible hawkish policy pivot by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

In Seoul, most big-cap shares were sliding.

Market top-cap Samsung Electronics shed 3.47 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix fell 2.54 percent.

AI investment firm SK Square plummeted 7.86 percent, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics dipped 4.54 percent. SK Group backtracked 6.91 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor slipped 5.81 percent, and its sister Kia contracted 5.13 percent. Auto parts manufacturer Hyundai Mobis dropped 4.56 percent.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution lost 3.76 percent and its smaller rival Samsung SDI went down 5.14 percent.

Power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility decreased 5.93 percent and home appliances maker LG Electronics was down 4.91 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,524.8 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 0.6 won from the previous session.

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