Oil Prices Surge Amid Middle East Tensions, Sending KOSPI Tumbling More Than 3% [fn Morning Market Update]

[Financial News] The KOSPI Composite Index is fluctuating sharply amid concerns over heightened tensions in the Middle East and a surge in international oil prices.
As of 11:04 a.m. on the 2nd, the KOSPI Composite Index was trading at 6,620.90, down 214.90 points, or 3.14%, from the previous trading day.
Individual investors were the only net buyers, purchasing a net 1.4315 trillion won. Institutional and foreign investors, meanwhile, recorded net selling of 1.0796 trillion won and 931.3 billion won, respectively.
Samsung Electronics (-3.35%) and SK hynix (-3.78%) were down more than 3%. SK Square (-6.00%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-1.12%), LG Energy Solution (-3.68%), Hyundai Motor (-5.49%), Samsung Biologics (-1.38%), and Samsung C&T (-2.94%) also weakened. Financial stocks, including KB Financial Group (1.05%) and Shinhan Financial Group (1.53%), advanced.
Most sectors were trading lower, with medical and precision instruments the sole exception. Transport equipment and parts, construction, metals, electrical and electronics, machinery and equipment, manufacturing, IT services, and securities were among the biggest decliners.
Investor sentiment was sharply weakened after the United States launched another airstrike on Iran, sending international oil prices up by around 5%. Intensified selling in global bond markets, which drove major countries' government bond yields sharply higher, also weighed on the market.
Overnight, the three major New York stock indexes all closed lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 0.79%, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.71% and 1.03%, respectively.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at KIWOOM Securities, said, "The market is likely to open lower due to the burden of rising oil prices and interest rates, as well as the more than 3% decline in KOSPI 200 Index night futures, before narrowing its losses. It is expected to respond to factors such as the inflow of bargain-hunting buying during the session and Dell's after-hours share price surge of more than 6% following an earnings surprise driven by strong AI server sales."
Meanwhile, KOSDAQ was trading at 813.12, down 8.13 points, or 0.99%, from the previous session.

[email protected] Minji Seo Reporter