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Kospi opens lower after strong rebound amid prolonged Iran crisis

Published: 06 Mar. 2026, 09:46

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi in the morning hours of March 6. [YONHAP]

Shares started lower Friday after a 10 percent gain the previous session as a prolonged Iran crisis rekindled oil supply woes.

Opening 1.66 percent lower, the benchmark Kospi lost 24.51 points, or 0.44 percent, to 5,559.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

The index has suffered an extreme rout this week in the wake of the Middle East conflict, tumbling 7.24 percent and 12.06 percent on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, before soaring 9.63 percent Thursday.

Overnight on Wall Street, U.S. stocks fell as the extending Middle East conflict pushed up oil prices and stirred up worries about inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.61 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.26 percent.

In Seoul, major shares traded in mixed territory.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 2.04 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix declined 1.81 percent.

KB Financial Group, a major banking group, dropped 1.68 percent, and leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 1.25 percent.

However, top carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 1.09 percent, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 1.75 percent.

Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace rose 2.82 percent, and Kakao, the operator of the popular KakaoTalk messenger, jumped 4.88 percent.

The local currency weakened 6.8 won from the previous session to trade at 1,474.9 against the dollar as of 9:15 a.m.

Yonhap