South Korean Kospi Falls Over 4% at Open, Led by Tech Stocks

The main index of the Seoul stock market, the Kospi, experienced a significant drop of over 4% at the opening on Tuesday. This sharp decline was primarily driven by technology stocks, mirroring the downturn seen in the previous trading session on Wall Street.

Twenty minutes after trading began, the Kospi index had fallen by 4.07%, or 272.61 points, settling at 6,424.35 units. The Kosdaq index, which comprises technology and mid-capitalization companies, also suffered substantial losses, shedding 3.63%, or 29.51 points, to reach 783.82 points.

Major technology players were heavily impacted. South Korea's semiconductor giant and a key local benchmark, Samsung Electronics, saw its stock price fall by nearly 4%. Its rival, SK Hynix, experienced an even steeper decline, losing up to 5%. In the automotive sector, Hyundai Motor managed a slight gain of around 0.6% following news of a tentative wage agreement between the company and its union after days of strikes. However, its affiliate Kia saw its stock price drop by 1.75%.

Other sectors also showed mixed performance. In defense, aerospace giant Hanwha Aerospace added nearly 1% to its value. Conversely, Korea Aerospace saw its shares fall by more than 3%, and LIG Defense & Aerospace declined by 2.5%. Battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution was down over 4%, while shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries fell by almost 3%.