Seoul stocks opened lower on Thursday amid prospects for U.S.-Iran peace talks. The KOSPI fell 80.19 points, or 1.42 percent, to 5,562.02.
Seoul stocks opened lower on March 26 as investors weighed prospects for peace talks between the United States and Iran. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 80.19 points, or 1.42 percent, to 5,562.02. Major Wall Street indexes closed higher overnight, with the S&P 500 up 0.54 percent and the Nasdaq gaining 0.77 percent, buoyed by White House statements that talks with Tehran are progressing. Iran's foreign minister acknowledged multiple 'messages' from Washington in a televised interview but denied negotiations. This follows U.S. President Donald Trump's claim on Tuesday of productive talks, noting Iran offered a 'significant prize' related to gas and oil, though Tehran denied any contact. Geopolitical uncertainties weighed on sentiment, particularly chip stocks. Samsung Electronics declined 2.65 percent and SK hynix fell 3.62 percent amid concerns Google's new AI compression algorithm, TurboQuant, could curb memory chip demand. Hyundai Motor slid 1.3 percent, Naver dipped 0.23 percent, while Hanwha Aerospace added 0.36 percent. The Korean won traded at 1,504.2 against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 4.5 won. The prior day, the KOSPI rose 1.59 percent to 5,642.21 on hopes for an end to the monthlong U.S.-Iran war, though Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyoung-min noted lingering Middle East uncertainties limited gains.
