The Kospi, which had risen for two consecutive days, is falling in early trading today due to weakness in large-cap semiconductor stocks.

As of 9:26 AM today (the 6th), the Kospi stood at 6,445.55, down 152.71 points from the previous session.

The index opened at 6,478.75, down 119.51 points from the previous session, and is widening its losses.

It briefly dropped to 6,394.69, briefly giving up the 6,400 mark.

Yesterday, the Kospi rose 3.76% to extend its winning streak to a second day, but turned downward today for the first time in three sessions.

In the current Kospi market, foreign investors are net sellers of 148.8 billion won, while retail and institutional investors hold a buying advantage of 102.2 billion won and 35.7 billion won, respectively.

Foreign investors are also net sellers in the Kospi 200 futures market, offloading 20.2 billion won.

Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed amid fatigue from a four-session rally driven by expectations for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49% from the previous session, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices fell 0.17% and 0.83%, respectively.

Nvidia, the bellwether AI chip stock, rose 3.44% after SpaceX announced it would exclusively use Nvidia chips to build its data center infrastructure, whereas AMD fell 7.04% amid assessments that its future sales outlook fell short of market expectations.

Consequently, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index turned downward for the first time in five sessions.

Alphabet also dropped 4.06% on news that Jeff Dean, a legendary chief scientist within Google, is leaving the company.

The domestic stock market is also facing downward pressure due to the weakness of U.S. semiconductor indices.

Profit-taking selling appears to be emerging following the Kospi's back-to-back gains over the past two days.

Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, explained, "Today, the domestic stock market's upward momentum will stall due to weak U.S. semiconductor stocks and profit-taking from recent sharp short-term rebounds, despite favorable geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions," adding, "It will exhibit a breather market characterized by sector rotation."

Among top market-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which both rose for two straight days, fell in tandem, dragging down the index.

SK Hynix even briefly hit its lower limit right after the opening of the pre-market on the alternative trading system Nextrade today.

Additionally, SK Square, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Samsung Biologics are also trading weak.

Conversely, financial stocks such as KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group, along with Hanwha Aerospace, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Kia, are on the rise.

By sector, electrical and electronics, medical precision, and securities are declining, while construction and chemicals are advancing.

At the same time, the Kosdaq index stood at 791.96, down 7.63 points from the previous session.

It has turned downward for the first time in five sessions since the 30th of last month.

As it surged 24% over the past four days, profit-taking selling is emerging.

The Kosdaq index opened at 797.44, down 2.15 points from the previous session, turned upward to briefly recover the 800 mark, but shifted back to a decline.

Foreign and institutional investors are net sellers of 103.3 billion won and 4.1 billion won, respectively, while retail investors hold a buying advantage of 108.7 billion won.

Among top market-cap stocks, Ecopro BM, Jusung Engineering, Leeno Industrial, and HLB are declining.

On the other hand, Alteogen, Ecopro, and ABL Bio are rising.

Robot stocks such as Rainbow Robotics and Clobot are also rising on the government's robot industry promotion plan.

(Photo: Yonhap News)