Benchmark index plummets as a lot as 12.2 %, eclipsing single-day plunge after 9/11 assaults in 2001.
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South Korea’s inventory market has suffered one of many steepest falls in historical past amid the widening fallout of the United States-Israeli conflict on Iran.
The benchmark KOSPI index plummeted as a lot as 12.2 % on Wednesday, eclipsing the 12.02 % single-day plunge triggered by the September 11, 2001 assaults on the US and the 9.44 % drop seen on the peak of the 2008 monetary disaster.
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The index recovered some losses within the afternoon and was down about 10 % as of 05:00 GMT.
South Korean monetary authorities had earlier activated their 20-minute circuit breaker after losses handed the 8 % threshold for triggering a halt to buying and selling on the trade.
The plunge adopted a 7.2 % fall within the KOSPI on Tuesday, cementing the worst two-day streak in many years.
Losses had been unfold throughout the board, hitting company giants equivalent to Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and LG Electronics.
However transport and logistics corporations suffered the steepest losses amid the efficient halt of site visitors by means of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about one-fifth of the oil consumed globally.
Shares of Pan Ocean, HMM and KSS Line plunged between 17 and 19 %.
South Korea’s inventory market had an explosive begin to 2026, with the KOSPI gaining greater than 40 % within the first two months of the 12 months, far outpacing worldwide friends.
The market meltdown is the newest instance of financial shockwaves unleashed by the battle within the Center East.
US shares dipped in a single day, with the benchmark S&P500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite each falling about 1 % after Wall Avenue shrugged off the battle within the earlier session.
US and Israel continued to bombard Iran and Lebanon in a single day because the conflict entered its fifth day, whereas Tehran launched assaults on Israel and US allies within the Gulf area, together with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
