South Korean shares end 6% lower on escalating Iran war, won tumbles

LG Energy Solution

09/03/2026 07:16

KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers

Korean won weakens against dollar

South Korea benchmark bond yield rises

For the midday report, please click nL1N3ZX01V

SEOUL, March 9 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares closed 6% lower on Monday, after triggering trading halts for a second time this month, on worries over an escalating Middle East conflict.

** The won weakened nearly 1% to trade near a psychological barrier of 1,500 per dollar, while the benchmark bond yield hit more than two-year highs.

** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 closed down 333.00 points, or 5.96%, at 5,251.87, after falling as much as 8.75% earlier in the session.

** Circuit breakers were activated for the second time this month, after they were triggered on Wednesday for the first time since August 2024.

** The KOSPI lost 10.6% last week, the biggest drop since March 2020.

** "Risk-off sentiment heightened even more this week, compared with last week when the domestic market fell more steeply due to profit-taking pressure from a rally in the previous two months," said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment Securities.

** Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, signalling that hardliners remain firmly in charge in Tehran a week into its conflict with the U.S. and Israel.

** South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said a 100 trillion won ($66.94 billion) market stabilisation programme should be expanded if needed, and called on the government and the central bank to prepare measures to respond to market volatility.

** Oil refiners, such as S-Oil 010950.KS and SK Innovation 096770.KS, erased early gains to turn lower on a government plan to cap fuel prices.

** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS fell 7.81%, while peer SK Hynix 000660.KS lost 9.52%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS slid 4.77%.

** Of the total 927 traded issues, only 73 shares advanced, while 851 declined.

** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 3.2 trillion won ($2.14 billion).

** The won was quoted at 1,495.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.93% lower than its previous close at 1,481.6.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR rose by 19.2 basis points to 3.422%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR rose 12 basis points to 3.736%, hitting its highest since November 2023.

($1 = 1,492.7000 won)

 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

 ((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))