Seoul shares end lower on escalating US-China tariff row

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 12.34 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 2,432.72.

Trade volume was moderate at 361 million shares worth 7.61 trillion won ($5.25 billion). Winners, however, beat losers 536 to 340, reports Yonhap news agency.

Foreigners sold a net 688.5 billion won worth of stocks, while individuals and institutions combined purchased a net 571.5 billion won.

Overnight, Wall Street, which rallied the previous session from U.S. President Donald Trump's pause on reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, plunged amid the intensifying tit-for-tat retaliatory tariff measures between Washington and Beijing.

The S&P 500 dropped 3.46 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.5 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite tumbled 4.31 percent.

"The tariff war dynamic has now shifted to a one-on-one standoff between the U.S. and China," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, while advising investors to monitor developments rather than make hasty sell decisions.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics plunged 2.13 percent to 55,200 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix dropped 1.31 percent to 180,800 won.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution plummeted 4.01 percent to 335,000 won, and top automaker Hyundai Motor lost 5.08 percent to end at 177,500 won.

Steel giant POSCO Holdings shed 2.3 percent to end at 255,000 won and SK Innovation retreated 4.79 percent to 97,300 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,449.9 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 6.5 won from the previous session.

Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea, Dai Bing, posted on Friday a video on social media showing two sheep colliding head-on, with one knocked to the ground, as he credited China's "resolute" countermeasures for the U.S. decision to suspend tariffs for 90 days.

The 30-second video clip, uploaded on his X account, shows two sheep charging head-on toward each other. One, labelled "the United States" in Chinese, is knocked backward, stumbling before collapsing to the ground. The other, labelled "China," stands its ground, watching as its opponent slowly backs away in defeat.