Seoul shares plunge nearly 4 pct late Tues. morning over Middle East conflict woes

▲ This photo shows a financial index screen in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul on March 3, 2026. (Yonhap)

stocks-morning

Seoul shares plunge nearly 4 pct late Tues. morning over Middle East conflict woes

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks plummeted nearly 4 percent late Tuesday morning amid escalating concerns over possible economic impacts from the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Opening 1.26 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 246.98 points, or 3.96 percent, to 5,997.15 as of 11:20 a.m. in the first trading session following the U.S.-led attacks on Iran.

The South Korean financial market closed Monday in observation of the March 1 Independence Movement Day holiday.

Overnight, U.S. stocks closed mixed as investors digested the U.S. air strikes on Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15 percent, but the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.36 percent.

In Seoul, major shares led the decline.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics sank 5.2 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix tumbled 5.66 percent.

Samsung Biologics, leading pharmaceutical firm, lost 3.77 percent, and flag air carrier Korean Air plunged 8.99 percent.

However, S-Oil, an oil refinery firm whose largest shareholder is Saudi Arabia's Aramco, surged 16.45 percent, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace soared 11.72 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,467.3 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 27.6 won from the previous session.

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