Key facts
- KOSPI fell 2.44% to 5,398.48 by 11:20 a.m. Friday.
- Samsung Electronics shares dropped 3.03%.
- SK hynix shares fell 0.25% after halting subsidiary listing plans.
South Korean stocks traded sharply lower Friday morning as investors sold off major chip shares to take profits, following overnight losses in U.S. artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 135.29 points, or 2.44 percent, to 5,398.48 as of 11:20 a.m. U.S. stocks closed mixed overnight, with losses in major technology shares weighing on the broader market. Micron Technology plunged 6.26 percent, while Nvidia and Intel tumbled 4.4 percent and 8.04 percent, respectively. In Seoul, semiconductor heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix shed 3.03 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively. SK hynix pared its earlier losses following news that it had decided to suspend plans to list its U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm. SK Square edged down 0.4 percent following the news.