SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) – Seoul and Tokyo bourses extended losses in a broad Asian retreat as investors moved past AI euphoria toward a reality check on the economic toll of prolonged Gulf conflicts and renewed inflation fears.
The benchmark KOSPI fell 0.86 percent to close at 7,208.95 after swinging between an intraday high of 7,324.52 and a low of 7,053.84.
Foreign investors sold a net 2.9293 trillion won ($1.94 billion) worth of shares, while retail and institutional investors bought 1.7106 trillion won and 1.1053 trillion won, respectively.
Large-cap technology shares showed mixed performances.
Shares of Samsung Electronics edged up 0.18 percent to 276,000 won even after government-mediated wage talks with its labor union collapsed ahead of a planned general strike Thursday.
The Central Labor Relations Commission officially declared its second mediation attempt unsuccessful Wednesday morning after the two sides failed to narrow differences over compensation for workers in loss-making semiconductor units, including System LSI and foundry operations. The union confirmed it would proceed with the strike as planned.
President Lee Jae Myung appeared to indirectly criticize the union during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, saying labor rights were not granted “to enforce the interests of a few through collective force.” The government has previously signaled it could invoke emergency arbitration powers should the strike materially disrupt the national economy.
SK hynix closed flat at 1,745,000 won.
Shipbuilding shares outperformed the broader market, buoyed by expectations that rising data center-related electricity demand would boost orders for power engines and related infrastructure.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries surged 6.35 percent to 636,000 won.
Elsewhere on the KOSPI, losses were widespread.
Mirae Asset Securities fell 6.63 percent to 62,000 won, while LG Electronics dropped 5.58 percent to 181,000 won.
POSCO Holdings declined 5.33 percent to 417,000 won, while Korea Electric Power slid 5.49 percent to 37,000 won.
Doosan Enerbility lost 4.43 percent to 101,300 won, while Doosan Robotics fell 4.6 percent to 95,500 won after a second large block sale of PRS-linked shares worth about 537.6 billion won.
Naver retreated 3.33 percent to 191,500 won.
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ dropped 2.61 percent to close at 1,056.07 after moving between an intraday high of 1,081.04 and a low of 1,038.23.
Foreign investors bought a net 194.2 billion won worth of KOSDAQ shares, while retail and institutional investors sold 57.7 billion won and 130.7 billion won, respectively.
High-valuation growth shares came under renewed pressure as rising global bond yields reduced investor appetite for risk assets.
AI robotics, secondary-battery and biotech shares led the decline, with robotics-related names extending recent losses amid broader weakness in AI-linked sectors.
Among KOSDAQ heavyweights, Alteogen fell 1.91 percent to 359,500 won, while Ecopro dropped 2.38 percent to 118,700 won.
Ecopro BM slipped 3.12 percent to 176,700 won, while HLB declined 3.84 percent to 47,600 won.
Samchundang Pharm plunged 5.06 percent to 347,000 won, while ABL Bio and Kolon TissueGene each lost 5.1 percent.
The Korean won strengthened slightly, with the dollar trading at 1,506.30 won, down 0.1 percent from the previous session.
Asian markets also closed broadly lower.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.23 percent to 59,804.41, while China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.18 percent to 4,162.18.
The selloff was driven by a sharp rise in long-term U.S. Treasury yields, with the 30-year yield briefly topping 5.18 percent, its highest level since 2007. The Japanese government bonds hit levels not seen in nearly three decades.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
