Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares tumbled more than 5 percent on Monday, hitting their lowest levels in nearly two months, as a selloff in chipmakers, led by SK Hynix, deepened worried over the durability of the AI-driven rally.
** The benchmark KOSPI was down 384.37 points, or 5.14 percent, at 7,091.57 as of 0235 GMT. It fell as much as 6.13 percent to hit the lowest since May 20 and trigger a "sidecar" trading curb, temporarily halting algorithm trading.
** SK Hynix lost 10.32 percent as investors booked profits after a high-profile US listing saw the world's leading AI memory chipmaker surge 12.8 percent in its Nasdaq debut on Friday. Peer chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 6.14 percent.
** "Despite a successful US listing for SK Hynix, worries about the memory chip cycle peaking have not been resolved," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
** Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 2.61 percent, while Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were up 0.11 percent and 0.20 percent, respectively.
** Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 1.59 percent, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 2.44 percent.
** Of the total 912 traded issues, 346 shares advanced, while 543 declined.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 1.04 trillion won (US$690.73 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,505.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform 0.47 percent lower than its previous close at 1,498.5.
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.11 point to 102.99.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 5 basis points to 3.813 percent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 5.1 bps to 4.275 percent.
Reuters
