South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday, dragged down by losses in tech shares. The benchmark KOSPI fell more than 6 percent after the opening.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 5.26 percent lower at 6,400.27. It extended losses to fall 432.95 points, or 6.41 percent, to 6,322.80 as of 9:15 a.m.
The Korea Exchange activated a sell-side sidecar for the KOSPI for 20 minutes at 9:06 a.m. after the index fell more than 5 percent. Samsung Electronics slumped 7.68 percent and SK hynix plunged 9.36 percent.
Overnight Wall Street finished mixed amid a selloff in chipmakers. U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington and Tehran were having good talks over the ongoing conflict.
