Kospi drops 0.7% as SK hynix takes hit from Nvidia stall

The Kospi fell 19.53 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,764.73 as investors unloaded stocks on the back of Wall Street losses.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,764.73 points on Monday, down 0.70 percent, or 19.53 points, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Seoul shares closed lower Monday as SK hynix plunged by nearly 5 percent and battery makers remained in negative territory. The won fell in value against the dollar.

The Kospi fell 19.53 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,764.73. The Kosdaq dropped 11.15 points, or 1.31 percent, to 841.52.

Trade volume was moderate at 580.2 million shares worth 10.8 trillion won ($7.8 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 637 to 233. Foreigners and institutions sold local shares worth 386 billion won and 94.4 billion won, respectively, while retail investors purchased 464.7 billion won.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.04 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 fell 0.16 percent and 0.18 percent, respectively, as big-cap tech shares, such as Nvidia, took a breather following a rally.

Experts said the Kospi declined as foreign investors unloaded stocks tracking losses on Wall Street.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics gained 0.75 percent to 80,600 won, while SK hynix plummeted 4.7 percent to 223,000 won following AI chip giant Nvidia's slump.

LG Energy Solution fell 0.6 percent to 331,000 won, and Samsung SDI retreated 2.96 percent to 377,500 won.

Bio and IT shares were mixed.

Samsung Biologics dropped 2.13 percent to 734,000 won, but Celltrion advanced 1.07 percent to 179,000 won.

Naver rose 0.78 percent to 168,900 won, while Kakao lost 2.55 percent to 42,050 won.

Krafton shot down 7.07 percent to 276,000 won and SK Square plunged 6.46 percent 91,200 won.

The shipping sector, however, was strong, with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries up 3.9 percent to 152,000 won, and HD Korea Shipbuilding up 1.78 percent to 154,300 won.

Auto shares also closed higher. Hyundai Motor gained 0.36 percent to 281,000 won and Kia rose 0.31 percent to 128,300 won.

The local currency ended at 1,389.00 won against the dollar, up 0.7 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds rose 1.6 basis points to 3.193 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bonds fell 0.8 basis points to 4.253 percent.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]