Kospi falls below 8,000 as AI demand fears hit chip stocks

South Korea's benchmark Kospi fell below the 8,000-point threshold during trading on Thursday, tracking an overnight sell-off in US technology stocks as investors grew increasingly concerned about a slowdown in chip demand.

The index opened at 7,933.1, down 4.46 percent from the previous session, as foreign investors accelerated selling in heavyweight chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

The Kospi extended losses to as much as 5.91 percent to 7,723.57 shortly after the opening bell, trig ...