Seoul benchmark index falls 5.8%, exchange activates selling sidecar — Korea Herald

In South Korea, Seoul’s benchmark stock index fell by 348.47 points, or 5.8%, to 5,660.34 points as of 09:15 after trading opened on Thursday. The sharp decline prompted the exchange operator to introduce a selling sidecar mechanism shortly after the session began, Korea Herald reports.

Sixth session of declines

The Seoul stock market continued a decline that has lasted for a sixth consecutive trading session. Investor sentiment was affected by concerns over the sustainability of the artificial intelligence boom and U.S. inflation, which exceeded economists’ expectations.

U.S. stock indexes also ended the previous session lower. The S&P 500 lost 1.11%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.88%.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Shares and the won exchange rate

The U.S. consumer price index rose by 0.6% in September compared with the previous month. The annual inflation rate stood at 3.7%, versus economists’ forecast of 3.6% growth.

Samsung Electronics shares fell by more than 6%, while SK hynix shares dropped by more than 8%. Hyundai Motor shares lost 4.31%, Hanwha Aerospace fell 0.24%, and Celltrion declined 1.39%. As of 09:15, the South Korean won was trading at 1,343.3 won per U.S. dollar, 1 won lower than at the close of the previous trading session.