Key facts
- Seoul shares opened lower on Thursday, September 10, 2026.
- The KOSPI fell 0.29% to 7,031.53 as of 9:15 a.m.
- Rising oil prices are fueling concerns about inflation and potential U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.77% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.64% overnight.
- Samsung Electronics fell 0.74% and Samsung SDI declined 1.05%.
- SK hynix rose 0.05% and Hyundai Motor climbed 0.52%.
Seoul shares opened lower on Thursday, September 10, 2026, mirroring losses on Wall Street as escalating tensions in the Middle East and a surge in oil prices heightened inflation concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was trading down 0.29 percent, or 20.11 points, at 7,031.53 as of 9:15 a.m., after opening 0.18 percent lower.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.77 percent and the Nasdaq Composite declining 0.64 percent, driven by the same geopolitical and oil price factors. The rising cost of oil has intensified worries about inflation and the potential for the U.S. Federal Reserve to implement further interest rate hikes to control price increases.
In Seoul's market, large-cap stocks showed mixed performance. Samsung Electronics, the market bellwether, saw its shares drop 0.74 percent, while battery maker Samsung SDI declined 1.05 percent. State-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. lost 1.93 percent, and S-Oil shed 1.02 percent. On the upside, Samsung Electronics' chipmaking competitor SK hynix gained 0.05 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.52 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,338.90 against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., a slight increase of 1.7 won from the previous session's close.
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