▲ Officials work at the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul during morning trading hours on Sept. 1, 2026. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks rose for the second consecutive session Tuesday on gains in tech shares despite escalating tensions in the Middle East following a resumption of airstrike exchanges between the United States and Iran. The local currency lost against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 6,835.80, up 15.78 points, or 0.23 percent.

The index opened 0.52 percent lower, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, following resumed military clashes between the U.S. and Iran, fueling uncertainty in global oil prices and inflation worries in the world's largest economy.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium also fanned concerns over a possible rate hike at the upcoming rate-setting meeting later this month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 lost 0.33 percent, while the Nasdaq composite declined 0.12 percent.

However, the KOSPI erased the earlier losses in the afternoon on gains in tech shares after government data showed that South Korea's August exports remained solid, supported by strong chip demand.

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