Lead

Seoul shares have whipsawed in recent sessions, with the benchmark KOSPI recording sharp losses and gains amid escalating Middle East tensions and investor uncertainty over artificial intelligence-related valuations. Multiple reports from Yonhap News Agency detail the market's volatile movements across several trading days.

Coverage Comparison

Yonhap's coverage spans four separate trading sessions, each marked by distinct market movements. On July 13, stocks opened lower and extended losses, with the KOSPI falling 392.53 points, or 5.25 percent, to 7,083.41 as of 11:20 a.m. The decline came after the United States and Iran exchanged fresh strikes over the status of the Strait of Hormuz.

A day later, on July 14, the market again opened lower but then traded higher, with the KOSPI at 6,667.90, up 139.03 points, or 2.04 percent, by mid-morning. This followed a 9 percent plunge in the previous session due to a massive sell-off of technology stocks.

By July 20, the market had opened lower and then extended losses, with the KOSPI falling 283.67 points, or 4.16 percent, to 6,536.93 as of 11:20 a.m., after opening 0.52 percent lower. Another Yonhap report from the same day noted that stocks opened 0.52 percent lower, with the KOSPI at 6,785.19 at 9:19 a.m., before the extended decline.

Key Claims

Across these reports, several factors are cited as influencing market sentiment:

  • Middle East tensions: All reports attribute market moves to escalating conflict in the Middle East, specifically involving the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. One report notes that the U.S. military launched strikes against Iran following Iran's drone attacks on U.S. allies, and another mentions the death of a U.S. service member in Iraq.
  • AI sector concerns: Reports from July 13 and July 20 highlight investor worries over AI-related valuations. On July 13, U.S. stocks had advanced on Friday, buoyed by SK hynix's multibillion-dollar U.S. share offering, but on July 20, major U.S. indexes closed lower due to AI concerns.
  • Semiconductor declines: Chipmakers led declines in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics falling 5.09 percent on July 13 and SK hynix plunging 9.08 percent on the same day. On July 20, Samsung plunged 4.5 percent and SK hynix tumbled 4.4 percent, though in the morning report, Samsung had inched up 0.39 percent and SK hynix added 1.79 percent.
  • Other notable movers: Hyundai Motor fell sharply on multiple days, while defense stocks like Hanwha Aerospace also declined. Some stocks gained, including S-Oil and KT on July 20, and Hyundai Steel on July 13.
  • Currency movements: The Korean won showed mixed movements, trading at 1,505.35 won per dollar on July 13 (down 6.85 won), 1,494.35 on July 14 (up 3.15 won), and 1,482.90 on July 20 (up 3.1 won), with another report noting 1,487.8 won (down 1.8 won).
One report from July 14 also noted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.26 percent overnight, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.55 percent. On July 13, the Dow had gained 0.29 percent and the Nasdaq also climbed 0.29 percent on Friday. On July 20, the Dow fell 0.77 percent and the Nasdaq declined 1.4 percent on Friday.

Institutional and foreign selling was noted on July 13, with institutions selling a net 501.77 billion won and foreigners selling 906.28 billion won, while individuals bought a net 1.38 trillion won. On July 14, individuals sold a net 2.33 trillion won, while institutions and foreigners bought net amounts of 1.93 trillion won and 427.8 billion won, respectively.