(LEAD) Seoul stocks end tad lower amid mixed signals on Iran war

▲ A dealing room at Hana Bank in central Seoul on March 27, 2026 (Yonhap)

(LEAD) stocks-summary

(LEAD) Seoul stocks end tad lower amid mixed signals on Iran war

(ATTN: ADDS bond yields at bottom)

SEOUL, March 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks closed a tad lower Friday after paring most of their earlier losses amid the United States' mixed signals on its war against Iran and eased concerns over the chipmaking industry. The local currency lost ground against the greenback.

After opening 2.93 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 21.59 points, or 0.4 percent, to end at 5,438.87, after dipping to as low as 5,220.10.

Trade volume was moderate at 889.8 million shares worth 23 trillion won (US$15.3 billion), with losers and winners almost even at 441 to 436.

Foreigners unloaded a net 3.88 trillion won, extending their selling binge, but retail investors and institutions purchased local shares worth 2.7 trillion won and 778.7 billion won, respectively.

The KOSPI opened markedly lower tracking an overnight slump on Wall Street, sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's mixed signals about where Washington stands in its negotiations with Iran and lingering concerns over the impact of Google's new artificial intelligence (AI) compression algorithm, TurboQuant, which is expected to cut the amount of memory chips required to run AI models.

Trump warned Iranian negotiators on Thursday (local time) they "better get serious soon, before it is too late," only to later say that the U.S. and Iran are having very "substantial talks."

The White House also announced it will extend a pause on strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure until April 6.

But the index trimmed earlier losses in the afternoon as investors moved to buy blue-chip shares at a bargain on sentiment that major semiconductor shares suffered excessive losses the previous day due to the TurboQuant shock, said Lee Sung-hoon, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

Chip giant Samsung Electronics closed 0.22 percent lower at 179,700 won, rebounding from an almost 4 percent drop. Its rival SK hynix dropped 1.18 percent to 922,000 won, recovering from a nearly 5 percent slide earlier in the day.

AI investment firm SK Square shed 2.51 percent to 544,000 won.

Defense behemoth Hanwha Aerospace dipped 2.48 percent to 1.34 million won, and power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility contracted 2.78 percent to 98,100 won.

Major shipbuilders also lost ground, with HD Hyundai Heavy falling 2.45 percent to 498,500 won and Hanwha Ocean retreating 1.99 percent to 123,200 won.

HD Hyundai Electric tumbled 5.18 percent to 915,000 won.

On the other hand, top carmaker Hyundai Motor added 1.02 percent to 495,000 won, while leading battery maker LG Energy Solution jumped 2.6 percent to 394,500 won.

Major bio firm Samsung Biologics climbed 1.32 percent to 1.6 million won, and Celltrion advanced 1.48 percent to 206,000 won.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,508.9 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 1.9 won from the previous session and extending its losing streak to a third straight day.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 3 basis points to 3.582 percent, while the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds climbed 3.7 basis points to 3.838 percent.

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