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Nvidia earnings fail to stop Kospi's 0.73% slide on the back of tariff war worries

Published: 27 Feb. 2025, 17:35

SHIN HA-NEE
[email protected]

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,621.75 points on Feb. 27, down 19.34 points, or 0.73 percent, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Stocks fell Thursday due to escalating concerns over a possible tariff war threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump despite better-than-expected earnings from artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia. The local currency sharply fell in value against the dollar.

The Kospi dropped 19.34 points, or 0.73 percent, to close at 2,621.75.

Trade volume was moderate at 504.5 million shares worth 10.4 trillion won ($7.2 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 563 to 321.

Foreign and institutional sellers drove the daily decline, dumping a net 237.9 billion won and 279.2 billion won, respectively. Individuals, however, scooped up a net 484 billion won.

Experts noted that Trump's overnight statements on tariff plans weighed heavily on the financial market, overshadowing the better-than-expected quarterly results of Nvidia.

Trump said his administration would soon announce a 25 percent tariff on imports from Europe, but the planned tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods would be delayed for one month.

In Seoul, most stocks went south across the board.

Pharmaceutical firm Celltrion sank 3.49 percent to 182,700 won, and Samsung Biologics inched down 0.77 percent to 1,159,000 won.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution lost 0.94 percent to 370,500 won, and carmaker Hyundai Motor declined 2.2 percent to 200,500 won.

Defense company Hanwha Aerospace dipped 3.42 percent to 649,000 won.

Food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang edged down 0.2 percent to 247,000 won. Online portal operator Naver tumbled 5.4 percent to 219,000 won.

However, Kakao jumped 5.58 percent to 44,450 won. HYBE, the label behind the global K-pop phenomenon BTS, rose 3.75 percent to 262,500 won, and discount store chain Emart rose 2.79 percent to 77,300 won.

The Kosdaq fell 0.56 points, or 0.07 percent, to 770.85 points.

The local currency was quoted at 1,443 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 9.9 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended mixed. Three-year government bond yields rose 0.4 basis points to 2.592 percent, while the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds fell 3.7 basis points to 4.259 percent.

BY SHIN HA-NEE, YONHAP [[email protected]]