Seoul shares narrow losses late Friday morning amid inflation concerns

Seoul shares experienced a slight recovery late Friday morning, narrowly avoiding further losses, as investors grappled with inflation concerns and the potential for a rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.23 percent to 6,876.74 points by 11:20 a.m. local time, down 157.18 points from its opening level.

The buying pressure from individual investors, who purchased stocks worth a net 1.68 trillion won, helped to mitigate the decline, while institutions and foreigners sold stocks amounting to a net 1.04 trillion won and 1.31 trillion won, respectively. The rise in oil prices and tensions in the Middle East contributed to the sell-off in U.S. stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite both declining by 0.6 percent and 0.65 percent, respectively.

Tech stocks, led by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, were among the hardest hit, with Samsung Electronics falling 4 percent and SK hynix dropping 3.45 percent. Investors are eagerly awaiting the release of the U.S. consumer price report later in the day to gauge the Fed's future rate trajectory.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.