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Kospi opens sharply lower amid renewed energy price woes

Published: 23 Mar. 2026, 10:04 Updated: 23 Mar. 2026, 10:29

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi trading on March 23. [YONHAP]

Shares opened sharply lower on Monday amid renewed energy price concerns after Tehran warned it could indefinitely close the Hormuz Strait, a key oil route. The won weakened against the dollar, remaining above the 1,500 level for the second consecutive session.

The benchmark Kospi fell 273.11 points, or 4.72 percent, to 5,508.09 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Sell-side trading curb activated after sharp decline in Kospi 200 Futures index

The Korea Exchange, Korea's main bourse operator, issued a sell-side sidecar soon after the opening bell amid a sharp drop, temporarily halting program trading.

On Friday, major stock indexes on Wall Street closed lower, as the war in Iran continued to ripple through financial markets. The S&P500 fell 1.5 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gave up 2 percent.

Investor sentiment was dampened as the war in Iran has been sending energy prices to record levels, raising concerns about inflation and complicating the outlook for the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy direction.

Fed Gov. Christopher Waller signaled that he may take a more conservative approach to interest rates in an interview with CNBC on Friday.

Adding further concerns is the recent warning from Iran that it would shutter the Hormuz Strait in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if the crucial waterway was not reopened in 48 hours.

In Seoul, most large-cap stocks were trading sharply lower.

Market top-cap Samsung Electronics fell 5 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix retreated 5.56 percent.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 4.09 percent, defense giant Hanwha Aerospace shed 3.86 percent, and major financial group KB Financial moved down 4.06 percent.

The local currency weakened 9.7 won to trade at 1,510.3 per dollar as of 9:42 a.m. after opening at 1,504.9. It was the first time the dollar-won exchange rate surpassed 1,510 since March 2009, when it hit 1,511.1 during the global financial crisis.

It had closed at 1,501 against the dollar on Thursday before slightly rebounding to 1,500.6 won per dollar on Friday.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [[email protected]]