SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - South Korean benchmark KOSPI tumbled 3.3 percent Tuesday as foreign investors offloaded shares amid growing concerns that the global memory-chip cycle is nearing its peak.
Foreign investors drove the decline on the main bourse, selling 5.34 trillion won ($3.55 billion) worth of shares to outweigh combined purchases by retail and institutional investors. The selloff heavily impacted semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks following an overnight slump in U.S. tech shares.
The index ended at 7,271.70, dropping from an intraday high of 7,446.57 to a low of 7,141.91. Large-cap semiconductor stocks dragged the market lower, with industry leader Samsung Electronics falling 2.0 percent to 275,500 won and SK hynix dropping 5.2 percent to 1,745,000 won.
Automakers and technology-related shares suffered steep losses alongside chipmakers. Hyundai Motor plunged 8.9 percent to 604,000 won, LG Electronics tumbled 11.7 percent to 191,700 won, and Hanmi Semiconductor lost 9.2 percent to 288,000 won. Mirae Asset Securities also declined 5.8 percent to 66,400 won.
Moving against the broader market trend, Korea Electric Power Corp. rose 4.0 percent to 39,150 won. The gain followed expectations that the government will accelerate a high-voltage direct current transmission project on the west coast to expand renewable-energy capacity and strengthen grid stability.
LG Innotek climbed 4.3 percent to 793,000 won after NH Investment & Securities raised its target price from 700,000 won to 1 million won. The brokerage cited spillover effects from package substrate shortages and stronger-than-expected benefits from camera specification upgrades for major clients.
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ index fell 2.4 percent to close at 1,084.10, pressured by a selloff in growth stocks. Retail investors bought 107.1 billion won on the junior board, while foreign and institutional investors sold 12.3 billion won and 55.8 billion won, respectively.
KOSDAQ-listed Doosan Robotics sank 15.1 percent to 100,100 won, and Taihan Fiber Optics fell 6.7 percent to 21,550 won. Conversely, I-ROBOTICS jumped 7.4 percent to 4,295 won after reporting a return to profitability with a first-quarter net profit of 450 million won, driven by stronger overseas orders and a 20.1 percent rise in sales.
The decline in Seoul followed a mixed session on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent to 49,686.12, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5 percent to 26,090.73. Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.5 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.4 percent.
Oil prices retreated from recent highs as West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3 percent to $103 a barrel and Brent crude declined 2.1 percent to $109.80. The pullback occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had paused a planned military strike on Iran at the request of Gulf allies, prompting hopes for renewed negotiations.
The South Korean won weakened against the U.S. dollar. The local currency closed at 1,506.10 won per dollar, down 1.0 percent from the previous session.
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