The opposite direction from New York
Seoul stocks opened Monday's session in negative territory, reversing direction from the gains recorded on Wall Street the previous day. According to The Korea Herald, citing Yonhap, at 9:15 local time the Kospi, the main benchmark index of the Korean market, stood at 5,028.01 points, down 31.68 points, or 0.63 percent. The stated reason is investors selling large-cap technology stocks.
The move is significant precisely because it runs against the trend: on Friday the main U.S. indices had closed higher, driven by a rebound among semiconductor manufacturers. The S&P 500 had gained 0.31 percent and the Nasdaq, heavily weighted toward technology, 1.09 percent. The comparison between the two sessions suggests that sentiment in Seoul does not automatically mirror New York's, but reflects specific assessments of local stocks and ongoing global uncertainties.
Nvidia, the Fed and the specter of new AI rules
Among the factors that the source says investors are digesting are new uncertainties surrounding Nvidia. The company announced that it had launched an independent investigation into allegations that its CEO, Jensen Huang, was targeted by a Chinese spy. This is an element stated by the company and reported in the article: the material provided does not include details on the allegations, the outcome or the operational consequences of the investigation, which therefore remain to be verified.
A second factor is the U.S. regulatory framework: the material cites fears of stricter rules on artificial intelligence after the outcome of the midterm elections, which saw a Democratic victory. It does not specify the content of the feared measures or the timing or form of any interventions. Market participants are also closely watching the Federal Reserve's moves to gauge the next directions of U.S. monetary policy, although the material does not indicate specific expectations on rates or decisions.
Stocks under pressure and currency strengthening
On the Korean market, most large-cap stocks were trading lower. Chip giant Samsung Electronics was up a marginal 0.26 percent, while SK hynix fell 0.09 percent. Automaker Hyundai Motor lost 0.89 percent, defense group Hanwha Aerospace 3.33 percent and financial institution KB Financial 1.13 percent.
On the foreign exchange market, the Korean won was quoted at 1,360 per dollar at 9:15, strengthening by 3 won from the previous session's close. The material does not explicitly link the exchange-rate move to the stock index's performance, nor does it provide indications of the causes of the strengthening.
The same Korea Herald report also includes a domestic political data point: according to a poll released Monday, President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell to 35.9 percent last week, likely due to the tough political confrontation over a legislative measure and stock market volatility. The material does not specify the polling firm, sample size or margin of error, elements necessary to assess its representativeness.
Several points therefore remain to be clarified: the scale and nature of selling in Korean technology stocks during the session, the evolution of the investigation announced by Nvidia and the actual content of any new U.S. rules on artificial intelligence. On these aspects, the available material does not allow further examination.
