Seoul stocks open lower amid prospects for U.S.-Iran peace talks

stocks-open

Seoul stocks open lower amid prospects for U.S.-Iran peace talks

SEOUL, March 26 (Yonhap) -- Seoul stocks opened lower Thursday, as investors weigh the prospects for peace talks between the United States and Iran.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 80.19 points, or 1.42 percent, to 5,562.02.

Major stock indexes on Wall Street closed higher overnight, lifted by optimism over U.S.-Iran ceasefire discussions, after the White House said talks with Tehran are progressing.

The S&P500 closed 0.54 percent higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.77 percent.

But geopolitical uncertainties still linger as Iran's foreign minister acknowledged Washington has sent multiple "messages," yet denied having negotiations, in a televised interview.

In Seoul, most large-cap shares were trading lower.

Chip giant Samsung Electronics declined 2.65 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix fell 3.62 percent.

Investors' appetite for the two chipmakers declined, amid prospects Google's latest artificial intelligence (AI) compression algorithm, TurboQuant, could reduce demand for memory chips.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor slid 1.3 percent and portal operator Naver inched down 0.23 percent, but defense giant Hanwha Aerospace added 0.36 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,504.2 won against the U.S. dollar, down 4.5 won from the previous session, as of 9:15 a.m.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved