Kospi Falls 1.5% on First Trading Day of November, Slips Back Into 5,600 Range as US Tech Stocks Tumble
Summary
- The Kospi fell 1.51% to 5,644.16, slipping back into the 5,600 range.
- Concerns over AI-related investment widened after declines in US technology stocks and a 7.2% plunge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
- Kospi heavyweights including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, along with Kosdaq names such as EcoPro and Rainbow Robotics, fell.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
South Korea’s Kospi fell on the first trading day of November as weakness in US technology shares weighed on sentiment.
As of 9:03 a.m. on November 2, the Kospi was down 86.58 points, or 1.51%, at 5,644.16, according to the Korea Exchange. The index opened 1.62% lower and at one point widened its loss to 1.99% in early trading.
Retail investors led the decline, selling a net 205.4 billion won worth of shares. Foreign and institutional investors were net buyers of 43.6 billion won and 163.2 billion won, respectively.
The weakness in Korean equities was seen reflecting growing concern over artificial intelligence-related investment that spread across Wall Street. On October 30, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.09%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped 1.82% and 2.86%, respectively. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 7.2%.
After Alphabet, earnings and guidance from Amazon and Intel also fell short of investor expectations, fueling doubts over whether the drive to expand AI-related investment can be sustained. Selling then concentrated in US semiconductor and large-cap technology shares, adding pressure to Korean stocks.
Among Kospi heavyweights, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, SK Square and Samsung Electro-Mechanics traded lower. LG Energy Solution, Samsung Biologics, Hyundai Motor, KB Financial Group, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung C&T also declined.
The Kosdaq also opened lower. At the same time, the index was down 5.05 points, or 0.70%, at 719.33. After opening 1.1% lower, it pared some of its losses in early trading. Retail and institutional investors were net sellers of 9.1 billion won and 2 billion won, while foreign investors were net buyers of 14.6 billion won.
Among Kosdaq market-cap leaders, EcoPro, EcoPro BM, Rainbow Robotics, HLB and Samchundang Pharm fell. By contrast, some semiconductor-related stocks including Jusung Engineering, EO Technics, Simmtech and Wonik IPS rose.
Suehyeon Lee
shlee@bloomingbit.ioI'm reporter Suehyeon Lee, your Web3 Moderator.