Global Market: Kospi drops 2% as chip stocks tumble ahead of Nvidia earnings

South Korean shares fell sharply on Tuesday, tracking losses on Wall Street as investors continued to sell semiconductor stocks ahead of Nvidia’s quarterly earnings report, while the Korean won strengthened against the dollar and government bond yields eased.

The benchmark Kospi fell 131.07 points, or 1.96%, to 6,565.89 as of 01:45 GMT, according to Reuters. The index has still gained 55.81% so far this year.

Chip stocks led the decline, with Samsung Electronics falling 1.95% and SK Hynix dropping 4.55%. LG Energy Solution declined 3.04%. Investors have grown more cautious about the profitability of heavy investment in artificial intelligence ahead of Nvidia’s results due on Wednesday.


Among other major stocks, Hyundai Motor rose 0.12% and Kia gained 0.95%. POSCO Holdings slipped 0.31%, while Samsung Biologics fell 0.89%.

SK Hynix union members narrowly rejected a tentative wage agreement on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the matter, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor’s South Korean union reached a tentative agreement with management, helping avert further production losses after workers staged their first full strike in a decade on Friday.

Of the 904 stocks traded, 273 advanced and 588 declined. Foreign investors were net sellers of shares worth 1.93 trillion won.

The Korean won strengthened 0.06% to 1,382.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, compared with 1,383.2 in the previous session. The currency has gained 4.1% against the dollar so far this year, Reuters reported.

In the bond market, September three-year Treasury bond futures gained 0.02 point to 103.24. The yield on the most liquid three-year Korean Treasury bond was unchanged at 3.836%, while the benchmark 10-year yield declined 0.7 basis points to 4.331%.