South Korean shares fall as chipmakers track slump in US peers

Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares fell more than 1% on Monday, as chipmakers slumped following sharp losses in U.S. peers in the previous session, while investors' focus was also on a highly anticipated investment project announcement by the government and chipmakers.

** The benchmark KOSPI KRX:KOSPI was down 147.07 points, or 1.75%, at 8,264.14 as of 0210 GMT.

** Chipmaker Samsung Electronics KRX:005930 fell 5.08% and peer SK Hynix KRX:000660 lost 3.22%, dragging the benchmark index lower.

** The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index NASDAQ:SOX tumbled 5.3% on Friday, underscoring recent volatility among AI-related chipmakers that have fuelled much of Wall Street's gains in recent years.

** While some investors remain optimistic about the potential for AI to fuel higher profits, others worry that massive spending to build AI data centers may take too long to pay off.

** South Korea is set to unveil three "mega-projects" on Monday to fuel its next growth phase, including a new semiconductor hub in the southwest that local media say could attract investments by Samsung and SK spanning hundreds of billions of dollars over several years.

** Shares of South Korean construction and engineering companies surged ahead of the highly anticipated investment announcement from the presidential office and the nation's top chipmakers.

** Among index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution KRX:373220 climbed 13.88%, while Hyundai Motor KRX:005380 and sister automaker Kia Corp KRX:000270 were up 0.94% and up 1.11%, respectively.

** Steelmaker POSCO Holdings KRX:005490 added 4.43%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics KRX:207940 rose 4.10%.

** Of the total 917 traded issues, 789 shares advanced, while 118 declined.

** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 3.7 trillion won ($2.40 billion).

** The won was quoted at 1,542.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform FX_IDC:USDKRW, 0.43% lower than its previous close at 1,535.8.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield (KR3YT=RR) rose by 1.5 basis points to 3.738%, while the benchmark 10-year yield TVC:KR10 rose by 4.6 basis points to 4.160%.

($1 = 1,542.3500 won)