South Korea's KOSPI gave up all of its intraday gains on the 14th and fell below the 6,000 mark. The index had risen more than 2% early in the session before turning lower as foreign investors kept selling.
The KOSPI was trading at 5,958.68 as of 3:06 p.m., down 76.67 points, or 1.27%, from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. The index opened at 6,062.08, up 26.73 points or 0.44%, and climbed as high as 6,190.65 during the session before reversing course. Foreign investors sold a net 789.6 billion won and individual investors a net 434.6 billion won, while institutions bought a net 539.8 billion won.
Most of the market's largest stocks also weakened. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) traded at 230,750 won, down 0.54%, and SK hynix (000660.KS) fell 2.43% to 1.408 million won. SK Square (402340.KS) lost 1.98%, Samsung Biologics (207940.KS) dropped 3.15% and Samsung Life Insurance (032830.KS) declined 4.30%. LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) bucked the trend, rising 1.59%.
Analysts attributed the pullback to caution ahead of the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) release, compounded by the burden of higher global oil prices. Share weakness at Dutch chip equipment maker ASML following its earnings report also weighed on Korean semiconductor stocks.