South Korean shares fall nearly 3% as AI concerns hit chipmakers

Business Recorder reported that South Korean shares dropped almost 3 per cent on Tuesday, with the benchmark KOSPI down 170.63 points at 5,597.38 as of 0132 GMT. Chipmakers led the fall over worries about spending on artificial intelligence, and the index had rebounded for two sessions from a six-month low.

Samsung Electronics slipped 1.61 per cent and SK Hynix lost 4.62 per cent, while Hyundai Motor fell 3.37 per cent. Foreign investors were net sellers worth 480.0 billion won, or $361.41 million, and the onshore won traded at 1,327.8 to the dollar.

Seo Sang-young of Mirae Asset Securities said the recent AI chip sell-off had gone too far in the near term, yet concerns about the credit risks of AI spending remain open. Separately, protests across France underlined the government's difficulty in cutting its large deficit, and French bonds, Paris-listed stocks and the euro all fell on Monday, dampening risk appetite worldwide.