Korean stocks opened sharply lower Friday as investors took a breather following a recent rally in tech shares amid uncertainty over the U.S.-Iran peace deal. After opening 3.66 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 449.16 points, or 5.2 percent, to 8,190.25 as of 9:15 a.m. The Korea Exchange suspended program trading for the KOSPI for five minutes at around 9:08 a.m., a measure issued when the KOSPI 200 Futures index decreases 5 percent or more for at least one minute. Overnight, major U.S. stocks closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.73 percent, and the S&P 500 added 0.41 percent to 7,584.31. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slipped 0.09 percent as declines in artificial intelligence-related stocks weighed on the index. Broadcom tumbled more than 12 percent after the U.S. chipmaker's quarterly results and outlook for AI-related revenue fell short of investors' lofty expectations. Oil prices retreated after three consecutive sessions of gains, as investor sentiment improved following reports that Israel had agreed to a conditional cease
S&P 500 gains while chip stocks drag down Nasdaq 100