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Kospi opens sharply lower on renewed AI valuation concerns

Published: 18 Dec. 2025, 10:05

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Dec. 18. [YONHAP]

Shares opened sharply lower Thursday as AI valuation concerns reemerged.

The Kospi lost 53.8 points, or 1.33 percent, to 4,002.6 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, major U.S. stock indexes lost ground on renewed AI bubble fears, following reports that a primary investor of Oracle pulled out from the company's data center project.

The S&P 500 closed 1.2 percent lower, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.47 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 1.8 percent.

Oracle dropped over 5 percent and other AI-related stocks, such as Broadcom and Nvidia, also declined.

In Seoul, most large cap shares were trading lower.

Market top-cap Samsung Electronics fell 0.65 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix rose 1.09 percent.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution fell 6.74 percent on the cancellation of a massive supply deal, portal operator Naver slid 0.87 percent and top carmaker Hyundai Motor dipped 1.05 percent.

The won was trading at 1,478.5 won against the dollar, up about 0.09 percent from the previous session’s close of 1,479.8 won.

Yonhap