The KOSPI and KOSDAQ indexes opened lower on the 18th. The move is seen as reflecting the overnight decline in U.S. stocks on concerns about an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble and caution ahead of Nvidia's earnings.

On the 17th, the closing prices of the stock market are displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. The KOSPI index closes at 4089.25, up 77.68p (1.94%) from the previous trading day, and the KOSDAQ closes at 902.67, up 4.77p (0.53%). The won-dollar exchange rate is trading at 1,458.30 won, up 1.2 won from the previous trading day. /Courtesy of News1

As of 9:03 a.m., the KOSPI was down 25.17 points, or 0.62%, at 4,064.08 from the previous session. The KOSPI opened at 4,044.47, down 44.78 points, or 1.10%, from the previous session.

In the main board, only foreigners turned net buyers. While individuals and institutions were net sellers of 36.9 billion won and 4.1 billion won, respectively, foreigners alone bought a net 33.8 billion won.

Six of the top 10 stocks by market capitalization on the main board were lower. Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, LG Energy Solution, Hyundai Motor, and KB Financial were falling, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Aerospace, and Doosan Enerbility were rising.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ was down 4.78 points, or 0.53%, at 897.89 from the previous session. The KOSDAQ started at 899.62, down 3.05 points from the previous session.

The KOSDAQ market was led by individuals. Individuals alone were net buyers of 79.6 billion won, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 23.5 billion won and 30.3 billion won, respectively.

Top KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization were mixed. Alteogen, Peptron, LigaChem Biosciences, and PharmaResearch were rising, but EcoPro BM, EcoPro, ABL Bio, Rainbow Robotics, HLB, and Sam Chun Dang Pharm were falling.

Overnight, New York stocks closed lower across the board. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 557.24 points, or 1.18%, at 46,590.24, and the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 closed down 61.70 points, or 0.92%, at 6,672.41. The Nasdaq composite finished at 22,708.07, down 192.51 points, or 0.84%.

Caution intensified ahead of Nvidia's earnings release, and AI-related stocks were seen as affected by bubble concerns that they are overvalued. In addition, uncertainty over a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed) in December also weighed on sentiment.

Meanwhile, the dollar-won exchange rate opened at 1,463 won in the Seoul foreign exchange market, up 5 won from the previous session's close.

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