중동발 유가·금리 급등에…코스피 2%대 하락

The Middle East has once again seen heightened tensions, causing the Korea Exchange (KRX) index to decline by 2% in its early trading. As of 10:03 AM, the KRX index fell 2.47% to 6,667.21, from 6,625.47 the previous day. The index has maintained a downward trend in the 2% range. Samsung Electronics fell 2.87% to 25,350,000 KRW and SK Hynix fell 2.89% to 164,400,000 KRW.

Among the trading companies, 709 stocks declined (170 stocks increased), with most showing weak performance, except for banks such as KB Finance and Shinhan Share. The decline is attributed to increased international oil prices and government bond yields following the United States' military strike on Iran and Iran's retaliatory missile and drone attacks.

The surge in international oil prices reached around 5%. The New York Mercantile Exchange's WTI oil for October delivery fell 5.2% to $90.22 per barrel and Brent oil for November delivery fell 4.6% to $94.65 per barrel, both following the previous day's rates. International oil price hikes have led to growing concerns over inflation and the rising interest rates on government bonds in major countries such as the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

The research analyst from Kim Woo Securities, Hong Jeong, stated that the sensitivity to macroeconomic variables, such as oil prices and interest rates, has increased. Meanwhile, major U.S. indices, including the Nasdaq and S&P 500, fell by 1.03% and 0.71%, respectively, as well as the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.79%. The Korean KOSPI index opened at 802.80, down 2.25% from the previous day's 813.89, but the decline has since reduced.