Korean stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday, dragged down by losses in tech shares following a selloff in chipmakers on Wall Street. After opening 5.26 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended losses, falling 432.95 points, or 6.41 percent, to 6,322.80 as of 9:15 a.m. The Korea Exchange, the country's bourse operator, activated a sell-side sidecar for the KOSPI for 20 minutes at 9:06 a.m. after the benchmark index fell more than 5 percent. Overnight Wall Street finished mixed. The Nasdaq declined 0.18 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.51 percent. However, semiconductor shares were weak as investors remained skeptical about tech giants' heavy spending on artificial intelligence (AI). The PHLX chip index, a gauge of U.S. semiconductor giants, extended its recent selloff, falling 2.2 percent. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington and Tehran were having "good talks," and there was a chance of a deal over the ongoing conflict, but he warned that the fighting would resume if the negotiations fail. In Seoul, semiconductor
US stocks: Wall Street falls as tech earnings spark AI spending worries and oil hits US$100