South Korean Stocks Fall After US Semiconductor Sell-Off

South Korea’s KOSPI opened down 1.62% on Nov.

2, the first trading day of the month.

Samsung Electronics shares were down 3.11% and SK Hynix shares 1.48% at 9:12 a.m.

local time.

The declines followed a 7.2% drop in the US semiconductor index on Oct.

30, as investors worried about technology firms’ outlooks and the profitability of artificial intelligence.

Those concerns were fuelled by weaker forecasts and cash-flow pressures at major US companies, as well as concerns about memory-chip prices and growth.

South Korea’s exports offered a counterpoint: October exports rose 93.7% from a year earlier, with semiconductor exports up 259.4%.

The Korean chip shares’ losses were more limited than feared, partly because both had already fallen sharply the previous Friday; institutions were buying while individual and foreign investors sold.

The sources give no further market developments or next steps.