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| ▲ The dealing room at Hana Bank in Seoul on May 13, 2026 (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) stocks-open
(LEAD) Seoul shares open sharply lower on U.S. losses, Middle East uncertainties
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SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street caused by a drop in blue chip tech shares and a faster-than-estimated rise in U.S. inflation, as well as uncertainties over peace talks between the United States and Iran.
Opening 1.69 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 196.25 points, or 2.57 percent, to 7,446.9 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The KOSPI snapped its five-day winning streak Tuesday, after rising as high as 7,999.67 during intraday trading, as investors moved to take profits after a record-breaking run led by large-cap tech shares, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
Overnight tech losses on Wall Street further sapped investors' risk appetite, renewing concerns over the sustainability of massive investments in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed 0.71 percent lower and the S&P 500 fell 0.16 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.11 percent.
Intel plunged 6.82 percent, AMD fell 2.29 percent, Micron dipped 3.61 percent, and SanDisk slid 6.17 percent.
Investors also remained concerned over a rise in U.S. inflation in April, mainly due to oil prices driven up by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
Market attention is also being placed on whether unionized workers of Samsung Electronics will decide to go ahead with a general strike after the company's labor union and management failed to narrow their differences over performance-based bonuses through government-led mediation talks held overnight.
Following the news, top-cap Samsung Electronics slid 5.29 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix slipped 2.18 percent.
AI investment firm SK Square dropped 2.75 percent.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution contracted 2.26 percent, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI pulled back 3.34 percent.
Power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility fell 4.94 percent, and trading firm Samsung C&T plummeted 7.36 percent.
Electrical and auto shares were mixed.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics gained 1.77 percent, but HD Hyundai Electric and LS Electric shed 4.89 percent and 5.02 percent, respectively.
Auto giant Hyundai Motor went up 1.08 percent, and its auto parts-making affiliate Hyundai Mobis jumped 4.56 percent, but Kia lost 1.49 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,494 won against the U.S. dollar at 9:15 a.m., down 4.1 won from the previous session.
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