South Korea shares fall on AI valuation, FX concerns

South Korean shares fell on Thursday as a weaker won and concerns about artificial intelligence stocks' valuations fuelled broader unease in markets. The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.
The benchmark KOSPI closed down 61.90 points, or 1.53%, at 3,994.51.
Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 0.28%, while peer SK Hynix gained 0.18%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 8.90%.
Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 1.22% and down 0.91%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 3.35%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 0.69%.
In U.S. equities, technology stocks were weighing down the S&P 500 amid the latest fears of an AI bubble. Shares of AI chip leader Nvidia were the biggest drag, closing down 3.8%. Reuters reported that Alphabet's Google is working to erode Nvidia's software advantage.
South Korean officials ratcheted up warnings against speculative moves in the won on Thursday as it hovered around a 16-year low against the dollar, while the finance ministry said it would loosen currency forward caps on some banks to supply more dollars in the market.
Of the total 926 traded issues, 196 shares advanced, while 688 declined.
Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 356.0 billion won ($240.85 million).
The won was quoted at 1,478.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform
USDKRW, 0.26% lower than its previous close at 1,474.5.
The KOSPI has risen 66.47% so far this year.
The won has weakened 0.4% against the dollar so far this year.
In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds (KTBc1) gained 0.11 point to 105.51.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield (KR3YT=RR) fell 3.2 basis points to 2.968%, while the benchmark 10-year yield slipped 0.7 bps to 3.311%.

Sumber : Reuters