Kospi Drops More Than 2% on Renewed Uncertainty Over US-Iran Truce Talks; Kosdaq Rises

The Kospi dropped more than 2% in early trading on May 8, slipping below 7,350 as renewed uncertainty over ceasefire talks between the US and Iran rattled investor sentiment.

As of 9:16 a.m., the benchmark index was down 159.49 points, or 2.13%, at 7,330.56.

On the main board, foreign investors were net sellers of 1.7537 trillion won, while institutions sold a net 122.3 billion won. Retail investors were net buyers of 1.8507 trillion won.

US stocks also closed lower overnight as uncertainty over US-Iran ceasefire negotiations weighed on sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.63%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lost 0.38% and 0.13%, respectively.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a senior Iranian official said Tehran would not allow the US to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and leave the war without compensation.

Among Kospi heavyweights, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, SK Square, LG Energy Solution, Doosan Enerbility, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Hanwha Aerospace fell, while Hyundai Motor and KB Financial Group rose.

The Kosdaq rose 13.8 points, or 1.15%, to 1,212.98 at the same time. Foreign and institutional investors were net buyers of 304.6 billion won and 30.5 billion won, respectively, while retail investors were net sellers of 327.8 billion won.

Among the Kosdaq's largest stocks, Alteogen, Rainbow Robotics, Kolon TissueGene, Samchundang Pharm, ABL Bio and LigaChem Biosciences advanced, while EcoPro, Leeno Industrial and Wonik IPS declined.

In Seoul's foreign-exchange market, the won opened at 1,458.5 per dollar, up 4.5 won from the previous session's daytime close.

Ko Jung-sam, Hankyung.com reporter, jsk@hankyung.com