Seoul Shares Open Lower Tuesday, Tracking Overnight Wall Street Declines
Key Takeaways
- •The KOSPI benchmark index dropped 0.92% to 6,241.8 in early Tuesday trading, with most large-cap shares trading lower.
- •U.S. equity indices retreated from record highs on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones each slipping 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite falling 0.3%.
- •Rising oil prices and uncertainty about when the Strait of Hormuz might reopen to maritime traffic drove the risk-off sentiment across both markets.
- •South Korea imports nearly all of its crude oil and natural gas, making it especially sensitive to disruptions in global energy supply chains.
- •Semiconductor heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix declined 0.43% and 1.97% respectively, exerting outsized downward pressure on the broader index.
Seoul shares opened lower on Tuesday, following overnight losses on Wall Street driven by rising oil prices and uncertainty surrounding the possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. South Korea, which relies on imports for nearly all of its crude oil and natural gas needs, is particularly sensitive to disruptions in global energy supply chains.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 0.95 percent lower and was trading down 57.86 points, or 0.92 percent, at 6,241.8 as of 9:15 a.m.
Wall Street Pulls Back From Record Highs
On Monday (local time), U.S. stock markets edged down from all-time highs reached in the prior session. The decline came as oil prices rose amid uncertainty over when the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly a fifth of global oil consumption transits — might reopen to maritime traffic.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent from its record close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also dipped 0.1 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3 percent.
Korean Large-Caps Trade Lower
In Seoul, most large-cap shares traded lower in early morning dealing. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged down 0.43 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix fell 1.97 percent. The two semiconductor giants together carry substantial weight in the KOSPI, meaning their early declines exert outsized drag on the broader index.
The Korean won was trading at 1,418.5 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 0.2 won from the end of stock trading the previous day.
Source: The Korea Times
