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Kospi opens sharply lower on U.S. tech drop

Published: 05 Feb. 2026, 09:53

A dealing room at Hana Bank in central Seoul on Feb. 5. [YONHAP]

Korean stocks opened sharply lower Thursday, reflecting tech giants' tumble on Wall Street caused by continued woes over their high valuation.

The benchmark Kospi shed 72.71 points, or 1.35 percent, to 5,298.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading, dropping from an all-time high of over 5,300 points reached the previous day.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dipped 1.51 percent, and the S&P 500 lost 0.51 percent as U.S. investors stepped up their selling of blue-chip tech shares, such as the Magnificent Seven companies, amid valuation woes.

In Seoul, large-cap shares kicked off mixed.

Semiconductor heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix tumbled 3.08 percent and 3.78 percent, respectively, directly affected by the U.S. tech slide.

Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace slid 3.63 percent, and AI investment firm SK Square dipped 3.87 percent.

Power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility lost 1.76 percent, and major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy went down 1.03 percent.

On the other hand, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 1.24 percent.

Automakers also started strong, with Hyundai Motor up 0.79 percent and Kia adding 2.36 percent.

The local currency fell 11.6 won from the previous session to trade at 1,461.8 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m.

Yonhap