Seoul: South Korean stocks opened sharply lower on Monday, amid renewed trade tensions between the United States and China. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 53.77 points, or 1.49 percent, to 3,556.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
According to Yonhap News Agency, President Donald Trump had attempted to calm fears of escalating tensions with China in a post on social media, stating that economic issues with China will "all be fine" and that the U.S. "wants to help China, not hurt it." His comments followed Beijing's assertion that it was "not afraid" of a potential trade war, warning it could retaliate against Trump's threats to impose new tariffs on Chinese imports.
On Friday, Trump announced plans to impose a 100 percent tariff on China and enforce export controls on "any and all critical software" in response to new export controls Beijing imposed on rare minerals. These minerals are crucial for high-tech industries, including defense and semiconductors, with about 70 percent of the global supply coming from China.
The trade dispute between the world's largest economies unsettled the U.S. stock market on Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq decreased by 3.56 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.9 percent.
In Seoul, most large-cap shares experienced a decline. Market leader Samsung Electronics fell by 2.75 percent, and competitor SK hynix saw a decrease of 4.44 percent. Battery producer LG Energy Solution retreated 0.56 percent, defense firm Hanwha Aerospace slightly decreased by 0.19 percent, and major portal operator Naver declined 2.24 percent.
Conversely, shipbuilding shares showed gains, with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries rising 1.36 percent and Hanwha Ocean increasing by 1.28 percent. The Korean won was quoted at 1,426.8 won against the U.S. dollar, down 0.41 won from the previous session's close.