After Friday's strong rebound, with an 18 percent rise, the Kospi index is heading in the opposite direction. In early trading, it was down almost 5 percent, with sharp falls in Samsung and Hynix, both down around 8 percent.
The two companies that have taken dominant positions on the Seoul Stock Exchange have recently been noted for extreme fluctuations linked to concerns in the AI industry. On Friday, for example, Chinese Deepseek announced new progress on its AI model, fuelling concerns about increased competition.
There are also clear declines on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with the Nikkei 225 index down 1.2 percent while the broader Topix is down 1.2 percent. The country's currency, the Japanese yen, has strengthened sharply after the US announced that it had stepped in and supported the purchase of the currency.
