Kospi Drops More Than 1% Early on Rising Middle East Tensions; Foreign, Institutional Investors Sell

South Korea’s Kospi resumed trading after the Hangeul Day holiday and fell more than 1% in early trading as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East weighed on sentiment.

As of 9:19 a.m. on October 12, the Kospi stood at 6,544.95, down 1.22% from the previous session. The benchmark has now fallen for a fourth straight trading day. The decline came after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants attacked Saudi Arabia during the holiday, escalating military tensions in the region.

Foreign and institutional investors led the selling. On the main board, foreigners were net sellers of 161.4 billion won, while institutions sold a net 11.1 billion won. Retail investors, by contrast, were net buyers of 166.4 billion won, absorbing the supply.

Moves among the market’s largest stocks were mixed. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 0.86% and 2.38%, respectively, weighing on the index. LG Energy Solution rose 3.24% and Samsung Electro-Mechanics added 1.29%. Celltrion, which reported third-quarter earnings before the market opened, also gained 2.34%.

Among individual stocks, Hanwha Machinery & Service Holdings was sharply higher. Shares surged more than 22% in early trading after news of a tender offer by President Kim Dong-kwan.

The Kosdaq also fell. At the same time, the tech-heavy index was down 1.31% from the previous session at 880.60, extending losses to a third straight trading day.