South Korea's Kospi share index plunges nearly 11% on selling of chipmaking stocks
AP News • • business
Key Points:
- South Korea’s Kospi index plunged nearly 11%, closing at its lowest level since April, driven by heavy selling of computer chipmaking stocks amid fears that the AI boom may be a bubble.
- Major chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw significant declines of 13.4% and 14.7% respectively, while concerns grew over rising competition from Chinese AI startups and chipmakers.
- China’s progress in mass-producing homegrown deep ultraviolet (DUV) chipmaking tools further spooked the market, though analysts consider the sell-off a likely overreaction.
- Other Asian markets also faced declines, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 down 4% and Taiwan’s Taiex falling 4.7%, while European shares opened moderately higher and U.S. futures showed mixed results.
- Oil prices dropped over 2% amid easing tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with Brent crude falling to $84.03 a barrel and U.S. crude to $81.20 a barrel.
