Seoul shares open lower on US tech losses, profit taking

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, with the KOSPI falling 1.71% amid tech losses on Wall Street and profit taking after a sharp rise the previous session. Investors are concerned about valuations of AI-related shares and a possible Federal Reserve rate hike after US consumer prices rose 4.1% in May.

South Korean stocks started a tad lower Friday following tech losses on Wall Street and a sharp rise the previous session as investors are worried about valuation of artificial intelligence-related shares and a possible rate hike by the Federal Reserve. After opening 1.31 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index further lost 152.4 points, or 1.71 percent, to 8,777.9 as of 9:15 a.m. The index spiked 5.42 percent the previous day. Overnight, US stocks closed mixed as investors remained doubtful of large-scale AI investments and their profits, while data showed that US consumer prices rose 4.1 percent in May, raising possibilities that the Federal Reserve would increase key rates. The S&P 500 lost 0.01 percent and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.46 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.14 percent. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics retreated 1.67 percent and chip giant SK hynix fell 1.68 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor dropped 2.78 percent and its sister Kia declined 2.51 percent. Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace slid 4.68 percent and energy company Doosan Enerbility dipped 3.3 percent. The Korean won was trading at 1,548.3 won against the US dollar, down 6.2 won from the previous session, as of 9:15 a.m. Yonhap