In Seoul, most shares lost ground, led by losses among chipmakers. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics plummeted 1.1 percent to 53,700 won, while chip rival SK hynix plunged 2.66 percent to 219,500 won despite having reported stellar earnings before the opening of the market.

Fortunately, I bumped into the shop's owner, Sang Kim. Originally from Seoul, Kim has been living out here the past 20 years: Here meaning both sides of the border, Tijuana and Chula Vista. He's a mechanical engineer by trade, who emigrated to work for companies including LG and Hyundai.

SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded weaker late Thursday morning as investors took profit following strong gains in the previous session despite an overnight rally on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had slumped 22.32 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,524.74 as of 11:20 a.m.

Most Asian markets rose Monday following a rally on Wall Street and record-breaking day in Europe, with sentiment boosted by positive talks between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that soothed worries about the incoming US leader's second term.

According to the market on the 21st, the won-dollar exchange rate finished at 1,440.0 won during the nighttime transactions that took place from 3:30 p.m. on the 20th to 2 a.m. on the 21st. This is 18.3 won lower than the closing price of 1,458.3 won from the previous trading day on the 17th.

People walk inside the Korea Exchange (KRX) building, as stock markets in Asia as a whole have been affected by the intensifying political turmoil over president Yoon Suk Yeol’s role in martial law, in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 9, 2024.

Asian shares are mixed after China rolled out more moves to boost its lagging stock markets. Hong Kong and Shanghai rose but then shed some of their initial gains early Thursday.

Netflix shot up 14.6% after it reported adding nearly 19 million subscribers during the holiday-season quarter and it topped sales and profit targets. The video streaming service’s expansion into live programming appears to be paying off as it wrapped up its best year ever with more than $40 billion in revenue.

Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia” reboot will play exclusively on 1,000 IMAX screens across 90 countries before debuting on Netflix next year.

Shares started higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's softer-than-expected tone in trade policies.

Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday after a mixed close on Wall Street, helped by gains in techs and shipbuilders. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.98 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,