Seoul: South Korean stocks turned lower late Friday morning on losses in tech and defense shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 1.93 points, or 0.06 percent, to 3,181.30 as of 11:20 a.m.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the index initially opened higher, reflecting overnight gains on Wall Street driven by the record-breaking performance of artificial intelligence (AI) giant Nvidia. However, the positive momentum was short-lived as losses in the chipmaking and defense sectors began to weigh heavily on the main index.
In the tech sector, chipmaker SK hynix, a significant supplier to Nvidia, saw its shares fall by 0.51 percent. Hanmi Semiconductor, known for its chipmaking equipment, experienced a larger decline of 1.74 percent.
In the defense sector, shares of defense giant Hanwha Aerospace retreated by 4.34 percent, while LIG Nex1 saw a drop of 2.37 percent. Among major biotech firms, Samsung Biologics and Celltrion both faced declines, with their shares retreating by 1.06 percent and 0.06 percent, respectively.
Despite these losses, top-cap Samsung Electronics bucked the trend, gaining 2.13 percent. On the currency front, the local currency was trading at 1,375.8 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., down 5.8 won from the previous session.