South Korean markets saw a mixed close Monday as chipmakers recovered from initial sharp declines following a massive $576 billion AI and data centre investment announcement. While the KOSPI edged down, construction stocks soared on anticipated demand. However, concerns linger about the long-term payoff of these substantial investments, as foreigners offloaded shares significantly, impacting the won's value.

South Korea's KOSPI index has surged roughly 200% year-on-year as Samsung and SK Hynix ride the AI chip boom, but concentration risk looms large.

Heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together account for more than half of Kospi's market cap, fell around 9% each on Friday, forcing the exchange to trigger…