The opening and comparison with the previous session
The South Korean stock market began Friday's session sharply lower, following losses recorded the previous night on Wall Street. According to The Korea Herald, the KOSPI opened down 2.99% and then widened losses to 5,709.23 points at 9:15, down 228.43 points, or 3.85%. This is an acceleration compared with the previous session, which closed down 1.24% on profit-taking in heavyweight chip stocks, despite Samsung Electronics' record quarterly results.
The US tech factor and the effect on chipmakers
Seoul's move is tied to the performance of US markets, where the wave of selling hit the tech sector in particular. Alphabet shares, 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 disappointment rekindled concerns about the profitability of massive investments in artificial intelligence. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.38% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index 1.4%, a climate that, according to the source, weighed on sentiment toward South Korean chipmakers.
Samsung Electronics fell 3.66% and SK hynix 6.82%. It is worth noting that Samsung's decline comes after a session in which the company had reported record quarterly profits: the market, therefore, appears to have given priority to the external picture and expectations about the durability of the AI cycle over the results already published. The comparison between the two elements, however, remains an interpretation, not a fact confirmed by the source.
Other stocks and the currency picture
Among notable stocks, Hyundai Motor fell 2.39% after cutting its annual sales target and investment plans because of a difficult operating environment. Hanwha Aerospace fell 7.76% after reporting third-quarter results below expectations, which the source attributed to delays in deliveries of K9 self-propelled howitzers to Poland. On the currency front, the won was trading at 1,339.2 per dollar at 9:15, slightly stronger by 0.3 won compared with the previous session's close.
The dynamic described concerns the first minutes of trading: the data cited refer to 9:15 and do not allow determining how the day evolved or whether the losses were recovered or widened. It also remains to be verified whether the link between Alphabet's decline and the selling in Korean chips has been confirmed by other market participants or remains an interpretation by the source.
