STOCKS | KOSPI Falls 3.26% as AI Spending Concerns Hit Tech Shares

South Korea's KOSPI closed down 3.26% at 6,684.38 on Monday, marking a third straight day of losses. According to Sina Finance, worries about a slowdown in global artificial intelligence capital spending were the main trigger for the selloff. The index opened lower at 6,692.61, down 3.13%, and at one point widened its decline to 3.56% before recovering slightly into the close. Chip and technology shares led the losses, while Brent crude futures rose more than 2% and added pressure on growth stocks. According to Sina Finance, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rejected a proposal from Korea Electric Power Corp. that would have required the two companies to prepay a combined 25 trillion won in future electricity bills over the next five years. The report said Korea Electric Power Corp. proposed that Samsung prepay 20 trillion won and SK Hynix prepay 5 trillion won, with the funds mainly earmarked for core power grid infrastructure. The Korea Exchange will also extend trading hours for nearly all local stocks starting September 14, with regular trading still ending at 3:30 p.m. The exchange said normal trading will remain 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., followed by after-hours closing-price trading from 3:40 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and new after-hours continuous trading from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.