{
  "id": 4536251,
  "title": "Seoul shares open sharply lower on Fed chief's hawkish comments",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/seoul-shares-open-sharply-lower-on-fed-chiefs-hawkish-comments-4536251",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-31T01:02:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/economy/20260831/seoul-shares-open-sharply-lower-on-fed-chiefs-hawkish-comments"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Seoul's stock market experienced a sharp decline on Monday, mirroring losses on Wall Street, due to possible imminent interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, as suggested by key officials. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.41 percent, closing at 6,625.28 points after initially dropping 2.58 percent. On the previous trading day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a slight decline of 0.02 percent, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.52 percent. During his inaugural major address as Federal Reserve Chair, Kevin Warsh expressed concerns over inflation, hinting at the possibility of additional interest rate hikes at the upcoming annual Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming. Large-cap stocks in Seoul showed significant losses, with Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Hyundai Motor, and Hanwha Aerospace recording declines of 2.53 percent, 2.18 percent, 0.88 percent, and 0.09 percent respectively. Conversely, POSCO Holdings and SK Innovation managed to rise by 0.15 percent and 5.99 percent respectively.",
  "summary": "Seoul shares opened sharply lower Monday, tracking losses on Wall Street amid the possibility of an imminent rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve caused by hawkish comments from its chief last week. After opening 2.58 percent down, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) trimmed earlier losses, trading 163.60 points, or 2.41 percent lower at 6,625.28, as of 9:15 a.m. On Friday…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "(URGENT) Seoul shares open 2.58 pct lower on Fed chief's hawkish comments",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/urgent-seoul-shares-open-2-58-pct-lower-on-fed-chiefs-hawkish-comments",
        "published": "2026-08-31T00:01:42.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Seoul shares open sharply lower on Fed chief's hawkish comments",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/seoul-shares-open-sharply-lower-on-fed-chiefs-hawkish-comments",
        "published": "2026-08-31T00:27:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Mainichi",
        "title": "Dollar trades in 160 yen zone in Tokyo after Fed chief's hawkish speech",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/dollar-trades-in-160-yen-zone-in-tokyo-after-fed-chiefs-hawkish-speech",
        "published": "2026-08-31T01:00:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "FXStreet",
        "title": "Gold drifts lower below $4,450 as hawkish Warsh remarks lift Fed hike bets",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/gold-drifts-lower-below-4-450-as-hawkish-warsh-remarks-lift-fed-hike",
        "published": "2026-08-31T01:45:46.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}