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Kospi slides 1.21% as Washington blocks Nvidia exports to China

Published: 16 Apr. 2025, 16:29

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,447.43 points on April 16, down 29.98 points, or 1.21 percent, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares ended over 1 percent lower Wednesday, snapping a two-day winning streak, as investors unloaded chip shares following Washington's decision to restrict Nvidia's AI chip exports to China. The won fell in value against the dollar.

The Kospi shed 29.98 points, or 1.21 percent, to close at 2,447.43.

Trade volume was moderate at 601 million shares worth 6.66 trillion won ($4.67 billion), with losers beating winners 574 to 301.

Institutions and foreign investors sold a combined net 473 billion won worth of stocks, while retail investors bought a net 381.5 billion won.

Overnight, Wall Street closed slightly lower as lingering tariff uncertainty swayed investors to move to the sidelines. The S&P 500 fell 0.17 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.38 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slid 0.05 percent.

Nvidia's stock plunged almost 6 percent in after-hours trading, following the U.S. government's decision to restrict exports of the chip behemoth's advanced H20 AI chips to China.

"News that the U.S. government has decided to restrict exports of Nvidia's H20 chip has contributed to volatility in the Korean stock market," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

In Seoul, semiconductor and automotive shares led the overall decline.

Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics plummeted 3.36 percent to 54,700 won, and chip rival SK hynix plunged 3.65 percent to 174,000 won on the news of the U.S. export curbs.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor retreated 2.83 percent to 181,700 won, and affiliate Kia slid 1.28 percent to 84,700 won.

Leading bio firm Samsung Biologics fell 1.06 percent to 1,023,000 won, and top battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution dropped 0.58 percent to 343,000 won.

In contrast, financial and defense equipment shares advanced. KB Financial climbed 2.56 percent to 80,000 won while missile system manufacturer Hanwha Aerospace rose 2.2 percent to 788,000 won following its announcement to establish a missile joint venture with Poland's WB Group.

The local currency was quoted at 1,426.7 won against the dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 1.2 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 4.6 basis points to 2.35 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds dropped 3.9 basis points to 4.34 percent.

Yonhap