KOSPI Pulls Back 2.29% to 7,643 After Five-Day Rally as Investors Take Profit

Seoul shares fell sharply on May 12, 2026, snapping their five-day winning streak as investors took profit after a record run and weighed an impasse in peace negotiations between the United States and Iran. 15. 11 during the session.

8 billion. Losers outnumbered winners by 731 to 145. 68 trillion won.

Market attention had focused on whether the KOSPI would break the 8,000-point level on continued strength in big-cap tech shares fueled by artificial intelligence optimism. -Israeli conflict with Iran. President Trump said on May 12, 2026 that he is considering renewing Project Freedom, an initiative aimed at helping guide stranded vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

He also said the ceasefire with Iran was on massive life support and called Iran's peace offer a piece of garbage. "As the KOSPI's recent rally was largely driven by the strong performance of large-cap semiconductor stocks, the index is experiencing a pullback as investors are moving to take profit," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said. U.S.

Tech shares, including Micron and SanDisk, during after-hours trading also reduced risk appetite. Remarks by Seoul's presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom further weighed on sentiment. Kim Yong-beom proposed a national dividend system on social media.

He wrote on social media that the fruits from the AI infrastructure era are not generated by only a handful of companies. 28 percent. 39 percent.

76 percent. 04 percent. 93 percent.

44 percent. 51 percent, and HD Korea Shipbuilding closed at 464,500 won after falling 2 percent. 21 percent.