Key facts
- The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.46% to 6,035.35.
- Foreign investors sold a net 4.51 trillion won ($3.35 billion) of stocks.
- The Korea Exchange (KRX) triggered a sell-side sidecar after the KOSPI fell more than 5%.
Seoul shares plunged by more than 5 percent on Tuesday, extending their losing streak to a fifth session, as technology stocks tumbled amid renewed concerns over the artificial intelligence sector and inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 348.89 points, or 5.46 percent, to 6,035.35.
Foreign investors sold a net 4.51 trillion won (US$3.35 billion) worth of stocks, while institutions and individuals bought a net 1.69 trillion won and 2.23 trillion won, respectively. The Korea Exchange (KRX), South Korea's bourse operator, triggered a sell-side sidecar during morning trading after the KOSPI fell more than 5 percent for at least one minute.
Trade volume was moderate at 399.87 million shares worth 26.79 trillion won, with decliners outnumbering advancers 628 to 246. Overnight, U.S. stocks closed mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.38 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite falling 0.44 percent. Chipmakers faced a deep slump after reports of rapid tech progress by Chinese rival ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). Investors are now awaiting the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) report due Wednesday (U.S. time) for clues on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook ahead of its October rate-setting meeting.