Kospi opens sharply lower on Wall Street losses, renewed Iran tension

Shares opened sharply lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street caused by uncertainty over negotiations between the United States and Iran to end their war in the Middle East.

After starting 2.02 percent lower, the benchmark Kospi lost 180.03 points, or 2.05 percent, to 8,621.46 as of 9:15 a.m.

The Kospi closed at an all-time high of 8,801.49 on Tuesday. The local stock market was closed Wednesday for the election.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended lower amid concerns that an escalation of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran could undermine prospects for a peace agreement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.21 percent, the S&P 500 sank 0.74 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.89 percent.

In Seoul, large-cap shares were trading in negative territory.

Samsung Electronics lost 2.08 percent and SK hynix fell 2.54 percent.

Hyundai Motor fell 4.25 percent and Samsung Electro-Mechanics went down 2.81 percent.

Samsung Life Insurance tumbled 12.91 percent.

The won weakened by 6.85 won, trading at 1,523.25 won against the dollar at 9:15 a.m.

Yonhap