Seoul Stocks Fall 2.7% as Investors Take Profits in Large-Cap Tech
South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI ended a four-session winning streak with a 2.7% decline as foreign and institutional selling weighed on large-cap technology shares.
South Korean shares fell sharply on Monday as investors took profits in large-cap technology stocks, ending a four-session winning streak for the country’s benchmark index.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 6,889.74, down 191.18 points, or 2.7%, from its previous finish. The pullback marked a decisive reversal after the market opened just 0.33% lower and then weakened as the session progressed.
Selling by foreign investors and institutions drove the decline. Their activity placed particular pressure on heavyweight technology shares, which carry substantial influence in the capitalization-weighted benchmark. The scale of the closing loss showed that the initial cautious mood broadened into a more pronounced retreat during regular trading.
Monday’s session was the first after an extended holiday break. The KOSPI had advanced for four consecutive sessions through Wednesday before the market closed on Thursday and Friday for the Chuseok holiday. The return from that break gave investors their first opportunity to react in the local market to changes in financial conditions and overseas risks that developed while trading was suspended.
Rising bond yields were among the factors investors were assessing. Higher yields can reduce the relative appeal of equities and tend to create particular pressure for growth-oriented shares when markets reassess valuations. Uncertainty surrounding the Middle East crisis also remained part of the risk backdrop, adding to caution as Seoul trading resumed.
The result interrupted the KOSPI’s recent upward momentum but did not by itself establish a longer trend. Monday’s decline reflected both profit-taking after four gains and a renewed assessment of external risks. The contrast between the modest opening loss and the much steeper close underscored how selling pressure intensified during the day.
Attention will now turn to whether foreign and institutional investors continue reducing exposure or return as buyers after the abrupt adjustment. Bond-market moves and developments in the Middle East are also likely to remain important variables for sentiment. For the latest session, however, losses in major technology names were sufficient to pull the broader market down by more than 2% and bring its winning run to an end.