Kospi ends down 0.56% as Samsung tumbles on Nvidia speculation

The Kospi lost 15.58 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 2,758.71, with a Reuters report that Samsung' HBM3E chip has not yet met Nvidia's standards driving the Korean firm's stock down 2.26 percent.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,758.71 points on Wednesday, down 0.56 percent, or 15.58 points, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares closed lower on Wednesday as most tech and auto stocks finished in negative territory. The local currency rose in value against the dollar.

The Kospi lost 15.58 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 2,758.71. The Kosdaq gained 2.13 points, or 0.26 percent, to 814.25.

Trade volume was moderate at 458.6 million shares worth 10.9 trillion won ($7.87 billion), with losers outnumbering gainer 489 to 368.

Foreigners offloaded a net 271.7 billion won worth of local shares, while institutions and retail investors net purchased 39.5 billion won and 242.1 billion won, respectively.

Samsung Electronics tumbled 2.26 percent to 82,000 won on a Reuters report that the tech giant has yet to meet Nvidia's standards for fifth-generation HBM3E chips.

Its local rival SK hynix, on the other hand, rose 1.71 percent to 208,500 won.

Most other tech shares closed lower, with battery maker LG Energy Solution dipping 1.38 percent to 321,500 won, while Samsung SDS dipped 0.07 percent to 150,900 won. Posco Future M fell 2.78 percent to 227,500 won.

But Naver rose 0.64 percent to 171,700 won, and Kakao was up 1.8 percent to 39,550 won.

Financial shares also slumped. KB Financial fell 4.19 percent to 84,600 won, Shinhan Financial shed 0.54 percent to 54,800 won and Hana Financial dropped 2.69 percent to 61,600 won.

Automaker Hyundai Motor lost 1.90 percent to 258,500 won, and its affiliate Kia fell 1.74 percent to 118,400 won. Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis, however, rose 0.9 percent to 224,500 won.

Bio-related stocks finished bullish. Samsung Biologics jumped 4.13 percent to 883,000 won and Celltrion rose 2.22 percent to 193,400 won. Cosmetics firm Amorepacific gained 2.17 percent to 179,000 won.

State-run Korea Electricity also rose 0.16 percent to 19,350 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,383.8 won against the greenback as of 3:30 p.m., down 2.4 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 3.3 basis points to 3.047 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year benchmark bonds dropped 0.1 basis points to 4.252 percent.

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