Korean Shares Close Nearly 1% Lower
The benchmark KOSPI fell 0.98% to close at 5,290.53 on Friday, erasing earlier gains as investors turned cautious over the potential impact of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s reported departure on the global AI ecosystem. The index initially jumped 2.05% at the open before reversing course and slipping into negative territory around midday. The shift in sentiment followed overnight losses on Wall Street after news of Huang’s exit, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq falling 0.36%, 0.35%, and 0.39%, respectively. Meanwhile, investors remained cautious ahead of US producer price data, which could provide further clues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy following a stronger-than-expected consumer inflation reading earlier in the week. Among individual stocks, Samsung Biologics (-0.41%), Naver (-0.33%), and LG Chem (-0.62%) declined, while Samsung Electronics (2.64%) and SK Hynix (2.79%) advanced.
The benchmark KOSPI fell 0.98% to close at 5,290.53 on Friday, erasing earlier gains as investors turned cautious over the potential impact of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s reported departure on the global AI ecosystem. The index initially jumped 2.05% at the open before reversing course and slipping into negative territory around midday. The shift in sentiment followed overnight losses on Wall Street after news of Huang’s exit, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq falling 0.36%, 0.35%, and 0.39%, respectively.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious ahead of US producer price data, which could provide further clues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy following a stronger-than-expected consumer inflation reading earlier in the week. Among individual stocks, Samsung Biologics (-0.41%), Naver (-0.33%), and LG Chem (-0.62%) declined, while Samsung Electronics (2.64%) and SK Hynix (2.79%) advanced.