Seoul Stocks Decline Monday Amid Chip Profit Taking and Nvidia Anticipation

Seoul stocks opened lower on Monday as investors locked in gains from large cap chip stocks ahead of the upcoming earnings release from U.S. chip giant Nvidia. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) began the session down 0.73 percent, or 50.77 points, at 6,862.18 in the first minute of trading. This followed a Friday close above 6,900 points. By late Monday morning, the KOSPI extended its losses to 2.22 percent, falling 153.42 points to 6,759.53 as of 11:18 a.m. Analysts noted that selling pressure increased due to investor disappointment over a shareholder return plan from Samsung Electronics. The chipmaker announced a plan targeting a payout of up to 110 trillion won, which includes approximately 30 trillion won in cash dividends for the third quarter. Market top caps showed mixed results early in the day, with Samsung Electronics shedding 5.33 percent while SK hynix initially added 2.02 percent. However, by late morning, both had declined, with Samsung Electronics down 7.28 percent and SK hynix down 0.64 percent. Other notable movements included Hyundai Motor, which rose 0.24 percent at the open before falling 1.08 percent by late morning. Investors are also monitoring the Jackson Hole meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the upcoming policy meeting of the Bank of Korea. The Korean won was quoted at 1,383.8 won against the U.S. dollar at the open and moved to 1,377.5 won by 11:20 a.m.