Middle East Risks and Interest-Rate Burden Weigh on Stocks...KOSPI Composite Index Falls Below 6,600 [fn Afternoon Market]

[Financial News] The KOSPI Composite Index fell to the 6,500 level as Middle East risks resurfaced.
As of 1:37 p.m. on the 2nd, the KOSPI Composite Index was trading at 6,579.16, down 256.64 points, or 3.75%, from the previous trading day.
Institutional and foreign investors were driving the index lower by posting net sales of 1.6443 trillion won and 1.6316 trillion won, respectively. Retail investors were the only group recording net purchases, buying 1.9918 trillion won.
Among the largest companies by market capitalization, Samsung Electronics (-3.83%), SK hynix (-4.37%), SK Square (-7.03%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-1.15%), LG Energy Solution (-4.77%), and Hyundai Motor Company (-5.62%) were trading lower.
Most sectors were also declining, with medical and precision instruments the only exception. Transport equipment and parts, electrical and electronic equipment, construction, metals, manufacturing, machinery and equipment, insurance, distribution, 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%. Intensifying selling in global bond markets also weighed on stocks, driving government bond yields in major countries sharply higher.
Kang Jin-hyuk, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, analyzed, "Geopolitical uncertainty continues, including the attack on an oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz and the United States' airstrikes on Iran." He added, "The West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI) price rising above $90 and the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield breaking above 4.8% are also weighing on the stock market."
At the same time, KOSDAQ (Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) was trading at 812.10, down 9.15 points, or 1.11%, from the previous session.

[email protected] Minji Seo Reporter