Seoul shares open lower on Democratic Party victory in U.S. midterm elections

SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks started lower Thursday as the U.S. midterm elections ended with a Democratic Party victory, raising concerns over tighter artificial intelligence (AI) regulations.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 103.71 points, or 1.82 percent, to 5,580.09 at the opening bell.

U.S. stocks finished higher as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3 percent, and the S&P 500 gained 1.6 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.4 percent.

However, the PHLX chip index fell 3.1 percent to hit a six-month low as investors were concerned about stricter regulations on AI data centers by the new Democrats-led Congress.