Seoul, Aug 3 — Seoul stocks opened sharply lower on Monday as investors went to lock in profits after a record-breaking surge the previous session.
After opening 3.6 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 280.05 points, or 4.25 percent, to 6,315.4 as of 9:15 a.m.
The index bucked a rally on Wall Street on Friday (local time), as robust earnings from Amazon fueled investor optimism for the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, reports Yonhap news agency.
Revenue at Amazon's cloud computing unit jumped 37 percent in the second quarter ending in June, exceeding market expectations.
"We may see investors attempt profit-taking early this week, as the benchmark KOSPI vaulted around 17 percent Friday, the sharpest single-day gain on record," Han Ji-young, an analyst from Kiwoom Securities, said.
Tensions in the Middle East have shown signs of easing as U.S. President Donald Trump said talks with Iran will resume Monday (U.S. time) after he called off a "massive attack" on the country.
In Seoul, most large-cap shares were trading lower. Chip giant Samsung Electronics fell 6.48 percent, while industry rival SK hynix dipped 6.69 percent.
Battery maker LG Energy Solution fell 4.27 percent, major financial company KB Financial inched down 0.47 percent, while defence giant Hanwha Aerospace added 0.55 percent.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,433.3 won against the U.S. dollar, up 2.2 won from the previous session.
Meanwhile, the number of first-time exporters, defined as businesses with no export records in the previous three years, rose nearly 4 percent in 2025 from a year earlier, data showed on Monday.
The total number of such businesses came to 19,746 in 2025, up from 19,041 a year earlier, according to the Korea Customs Service.
It marked the largest on-year increase in the past five years, adding fresh vitality to the country's exports, the agency said.
The companies' combined exports rose 13.2 percent from a year earlier to US$6.9 billion, marking the highest level since 2019.