The benchmark KOSPI fell 1.4% to around 3,106 on Wednesday, trading at its weakest in several weeks amid concerns over an AI bubble and uncertainty ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole meeting. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned that AI valuations could resemble the late-1990s dot-com bubble, when internet and tech stocks soared before collapsing in the early 2000s, erasing trillions in market value. This unsettled investors given South Korea’s reliance on semiconductor and AI-related industries, raising fears of overvaluation in key firms such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Overnight, the Nasdaq tumbled 1.5% as global traders turned cautious before Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech, which is expected to outline the central bank's policy stance amid lingering inflation and growth risks. Domestically, declines were led by SK Hynix (-3%), Doosan Enerbility (-8.4%), Hanwha Ocean (-2.6%), Naver (-2%), and Kakao (-3.4%), underscoring the market's sensitivity to shifts in AI sentiment.