A screen at the dealing room of Hana Bank’s headquarters in Seoul shows the KOSPI index and won-dollar exchange rate, Thursday. Yonhap
Korean stocks started sharply lower Thursday, tracking an overnight tech slump on Wall Street fueled by woes over the valuation of artificial intelligence (AI) shares and escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.
After starting 2.86 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended losses, plunging 288.94 points, or 3.74 percent, to 7,441.88 in the first 15 minutes of trading.
The KOSPI's steep fall was in line with major U.S. indexes' overnight losses led by a heavy tech sell-off.
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.
