The opening and the Wall Street effect
The Seoul Stock Exchange began Friday's session sharply lower, following the losses recorded the previous night on Wall Street. According to The Korea Herald, the benchmark Kospi opened down 2.99% and then widened its losses to 5,709.23 points at 9:15, down 228.43 points, or 3.85%. In the previous session, the index had already shed 1.24%, despite Samsung Electronics' record quarterly results, due to profit-taking in chip stocks.
The Alphabet disappointment and the semiconductor drag
At the root of the pullback in Asian markets are renewed concerns about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence expansion cycle, which weighed on investor sentiment. On Wall Street, the technology sector was the scene of broad selling: Alphabet, Google's parent company, fell more than 12% after reporting third-quarter revenue up 25% year on year to $127.58 billion, but below market expectations. The data fueled doubts about the returns on massive investments in the sector. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.38% and the Philadelphia semiconductor index 1.4%, with direct repercussions for Korean chipmakers.
Samsung Electronics fell 3.66% and SK hynix 6.82%. The link between the two markets is explicit in the material: the performance of the U.S. semiconductor index weighed on sentiment toward Korean producers. It remains to be seen whether the decline opens a broader correction phase or subsides over the course of the session.
Hyundai and Hanwha: the specific factors
Alongside the technology component, the market priced in negative corporate news. Hyundai Motor, the country's leading automaker, fell 2.39% after lowering its annual sales target and investment plans due to a difficult operating environment. Hanwha Aerospace lost 7.76% following weaker-than-expected third-quarter results, due to delays in deliveries of K9 self-propelled howitzers to Poland.
On the currency front, the won stood at 1,339.2 per dollar at 9:15, a slight appreciation of 0.3 won from the previous session's close. This is a point-in-time figure: the material does not allow determining whether the movement reflects a stable dynamic or a temporary reaction.
