Samsung Electronics was the only gainer among five South Korean companies cited by Yonhap as the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) opened lower Monday, despite Friday’s advance in U.S. stocks.
At 7:15 p.m. ET Sunday (00:15 UTC Monday), the equivalent of Yonhap’s 9:15 a.m. Monday snapshot in Seoul, the Kospi stood at 5,028.01, down 31.68 points, or 0.63%.
Hanwha Aerospace had the steepest decline among the five companies, falling 3.33%. KB Financial lost 1.13%, Hyundai Motor fell 0.89% and SK hynix edged down 0.09%. Samsung Electronics rose 0.26%. Yonhap said most large-cap Seoul shares were lower.
U.S. stocks finished Friday higher. The Nasdaq rose 1.09%, outpacing the S&P 500’s 0.31% gain, as chipmakers rebounded, Yonhap reported.
The report said investors were also weighing concerns about tighter artificial-intelligence rules that lingered after the Democrats’ midterm sweep. They were following Federal Reserve moves for signals about the direction of U.S. policy. The rate stood at 1,360 won per U.S. dollar, up 3 won from the previous session’s close, Yonhap reported.
