South Korean shares fall 1.50% as KOSPI drops 83.14 points

South Korean shares fell on Monday, with the KOSPI down 83.14 points, or 1.50%, to 5,467.16 by 9 AM IST. The won strengthened against the dollar and South Korean government bond yields declined as foreign investors sold shares. Concerns over artificial intelligence-related spending came before quarterly results from major US technology companies.

KOSPI falls 83.14 points to 5,467.16

KOSPI market data showed the benchmark at 5,467.16 at 9 AM IST after Monday’s 83.14-point fall. The 1.50% decline came after the index had gained about 30% so far this year.

Foreign investors sell 517.9 billion won as shares decline

South Korean market data recorded foreign investors as net sellers of shares worth 517.9 billion won. The data also showed Samsung Electronics falling 1.39% and SK Hynix declining 0.47%.

LG Energy Solution slipped 1.70%. Hyundai Motor fell 2.71%, while Kia Corp dropped 1.78%.

POSCO Holdings declined 0.91% and Samsung BioLogics fell 0.34%. Of the 914 issues traded, 792 declined and 98 advanced, according to South Korean market data.

Won gains 0.32% as Korean bond yields decline

Onshore settlement platform data put the won at 1,322.0 per dollar, compared with its previous close of 1,326.2, after strengthening 0.32%. The currency had appreciated about 9% against the dollar so far this year.

South Korean bond-market data showed December futures on three-year treasury bonds rising 0.09 point to 103.24. The three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 2.4 basis points to 3.792%, and the benchmark 10-year yield declined 1.9 basis points to 4.080%.

AI spending concerns precede US technology results

South Korean market data linked the share decline to concerns about artificial intelligence-related investment and spending before quarterly results from major US technology companies.

Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon were among the companies named ahead of those results. About a third of S&P 500 companies were scheduled to report quarterly results during the week.

SK Hynix to announce shareholder returns on Wednesday

SK Hynix said it would announce shareholder-return measures on Wednesday alongside its quarterly results, according to the company’s disclosure cited in the report.

Reuters said the announcement followed a report that SK Hynix was considering a special dividend of around 16 trillion won, or $12 billion.