Seoul Shares Plunge 4% Amid Renewed U.S.-Iran Tensions

Seoul: South Korean stocks tumbled 4 percent Wednesday as renewed hostility between the United States and Iran pushed up crude prices and fueled inflation worries. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar. According to Yonhap News Agency, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 6,562.72, down 273.08 points, or 3.99 percent, ending a two-session winning streak. Overnight, the U.S. launched a new round of airstrikes against Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz, driving oil prices higher and fanning inflation worries again. With higher odds of a rate hike at the Federal Reserve's meeting later this month, all three major U.S. stock indexes finished lower, and the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to the highest point since January last year.