South Korean stocks began trading lower on Tuesday, mirroring overnight losses on Wall Street due to renewed uncertainties surrounding U.S. trade policies.
The downturn follows declines in U.S. markets, triggered by investor reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s potential implementation of new tariffs after a Supreme Court ruling challenged his broad reciprocal import taxes.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased by 32.70 points, or 0.56 percent, to reach 5,813.39 within the first 15 minutes of trading.
On Monday, the KOSPI had closed at a record high of 5,846.09, fueled by gains in technology stocks and anticipation of pro-investor policy measures.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a 1.66 percent decline, while the technology-focused Nasdaq composite fell by 1.13 percent.
In Seoul, the automobile and defense sectors led the downward trend.
Major automaker Hyundai Motor saw a decrease of 1.72 percent, with its affiliate Kia Motors declining by 1.1 percent.
Leading defense company Hanwha Aerospace dropped by 2.1 percent, and prominent shipper HMM fell by 0.22 percent.
Among stocks showing gains, market leader Samsung Electronics increased by 0.16 percent, while semiconductor giant SK hynix rose by 0.32 percent.
Biopharmaceutical companies Celltrion and Samsung Biologics experienced gains of 1.85 percent and 0.52 percent, respectively.
