[Good Morning Market] Korean Stocks Seen Opening Lower on Weakness in U.S. Semiconductor Shares

The domestic stock market is expected to open lower as U.S. technology stocks weakened under the impact of a sharp decline in Nvidia's share price.

On 2026.2.25, the KOSPI index surpassed the 6,000 level for the first time ever in early trading, as shown on the domestic market index display at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Seoul. That day, shares of Samsung Electronics, which topped 200,000 won, and SK Hynix, which topped 1,000,000 won, also opened higher. 2026.2.25 Kang Jinhyeong, Reporter

On the 26th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) closed at 49,499.20, up 17.05 points (0.03%). The S&P 500 Index ended the session at 6,908.86, down 37.37 points (0.54%) from the previous day, while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 22,878.38, down 273.69 points (1.18%).

The decline, led by the Nasdaq, was driven by Nvidia. Despite an earnings surprise, Nvidia's share price fell 5.5% as profit-taking sentiment dominated. There was no news in the conference call that could fuel further share price momentum, and the result also reflected elevated expectations after three consecutive years of earnings surprises.

The narrative of an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble is also weighing on investor sentiment. Nvidia's latest results show that its long-term purchase obligations increased from 16.1 billion dollars to 95.2 billion dollars, and some have warned that if future AI demand slows, this strategy of front-loading such large-scale orders could lead to a decline in Nvidia's margins.

Amid this fallout, selling in AI semiconductors and hardware triggered a decline in technology stocks, and the market ended lower, centered on tech names. However, the Dow managed to turn positive, and the S&P 500 also pared its losses. While technology (-1.8%), communication services (-0.8%), and consumer discretionary (-0.4%) were weak, financials (+1.3%), industrials (+0.6%), and real estate (+0.5%) were strong, so the overall market tone was not excessively negative.

The likelihood that the decline in semiconductor hardware names, including Nvidia, will continue as a trend is low. The fact that hyperscalers' capital expenditure outlook stands at 650 billion dollars, and Nvidia's quarterly revenue guidance has been raised from 62.3 billion dollars in the fourth quarter of last year to 78.0 billion dollars in the first quarter of this year, shows that AI demand remains solid.

The domestic stock market is expected to open lower today. This is because the index has risen for six consecutive trading days, accumulating short-term overheating pressure, and because the Nvidia-led move in U.S. semiconductor stocks will be reflected. However, given that recent buying by individual investors has been pushing the index higher, bargain hunting in large-cap domestic stocks is expected to provide some support to the lower end of the index.

The domestic stock market is currently being driven by a small group of ultra-large-cap stocks. The number of declining stocks is increasing relative to the number of rising stocks, intensifying the concentration phenomenon. In fact, while the top three companies by market capitalization on the KOSPI (Samsung Electronics +7.1%, SK Hynix +8.0%, Hyundai Motor +6.5%) surged the previous day, the number of declining KOSPI stocks (593) was more than double the number of rising stocks (202).

Lee Seonghoon, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "If the market enters a short-term profit-taking phase centered on semiconductors today, it will be important to watch whether funds rotate into sectors that have been relatively neglected amid the concentration in leading stocks, or into the KOSDAQ market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.