Kospi opens sharply lower on U.S. tech slide, Iran tensions

Stocks started sharply lower Thursday, tracking an overnight tech slump on Wall Street fueled by woes over the valuation of AI shares and escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.

The benchmark Kospi shed 221.2 points, or 2.86 percent, to 7,509.62 at the opening bell.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.87 percent lower, the S&P 500 fell 1.62 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite shed 1.98 percent, driven down by a heavy tech selloff.

AI chip giant Nvidia dipped 3.73 percent, Broadcom slid 5.12 percent, Super Micro Computer tumbled 28 percent and AMD dropped 4.86 percent.

Market sentiment was also weighed down by news that the United States launched additional strikes against Iran, and the latter threatened to fire on any vessel attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which brewed concerns that the two countries may reenter a full-scale war.

Yonhap