Overview
- South Korea’s benchmark closed at 3,953.76, down 72.69 points, after an intraday plunge to 3,887.32 that extended a volatile week.
- Overnight declines on Wall Street followed renewed concern over stretched AI valuations and a report of 153,074 U.S. job cuts in October, pressuring Seoul trading.
- Foreign investors sold 472.2 billion won on the day with institutions offloading 228.1 billion won, while retail buyers purchased 695.9 billion won.
- The won weakened to 1,456.9 per dollar, breaching 1,450 for the first time since April as equity outflows added currency pressure.
- Tech and cyclicals led losses, with Samsung Electronics down 1.31% and SK hynix off 2.19%, while select names such as Hanwha Ocean and Kakao advanced after stock-specific catalysts; intraday losses deepened on reports of tighter U.S. chip sales to China and softer Chinese export data.