South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Friday amid mixed US signals on its war with Iran and eased chip sector concerns. The benchmark KOSPI fell 0.4 percent to 5,438.87, while the won weakened against the dollar.
SEOUL, March 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks closed a tad lower Friday after paring most early losses amid mixed signals from the United States on its war with Iran and lingering concerns over Google's TurboQuant AI compression algorithm, which is expected to reduce memory chip demand for AI models. The local currency weakened against the dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 2.93 percent lower and dipped to 5,220.10 before falling 21.59 points, or 0.4 percent, to end at 5,438.87.
Trade volume was moderate at 889.8 million shares worth 23 trillion won ($15.3 billion), with winners and losers nearly even at 436 to 441.
Foreigners net sold 3.88 trillion won, but retail investors bought a net 2.7 trillion won and institutions 778.7 billion won.
The index tracked an overnight Wall Street slump triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's mixed messages on Iran negotiations. Trump warned Iranian negotiators on Thursday they "better get serious soon, before it is too late," but later said the U.S. and Iran were having "substantial talks."
The White House announced an extension of the pause on strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure until April 6.
Losses narrowed in the afternoon as investors bought blue-chip shares on the view that semiconductor stocks had fallen excessively due to TurboQuant fears, said Lee Sung-hoon, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
Samsung Electronics fell 0.22 percent to 179,700 won, rebounding from a near 4 percent drop. SK hynix dropped 1.18 percent to 922,000 won.
Defense firm Hanwha Aerospace dipped 2.48 percent to 1.34 million won, while Hyundai Motor rose 1.02 percent to 495,000 won and LG Energy Solution jumped 2.6 percent to 394,500 won.
The won traded at 1,508.9 per dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 1.9 won and weakening for a third day. Three-year Treasury yields rose 3 basis points to 3.582 percent, and five-year bonds to 3.838 percent.
