KOSPI Crashes Amid Inflation Fears and Rate Hike Anxiety

Seoul's stock market opened sharply lower on Friday, mirroring losses in the US amid inflation woes. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plummeted 2.23% to 6,876.74 as of 11:20 a.m., after opening 3.29% lower.

Individual investors bucked the trend, buying a net 1.68 trillion won ($1.24 billion) worth of stocks, while institutions and foreigners sold a net 1.04 trillion won and 1.31 trillion won respectively.

The US Federal Reserve's potential interest rate hike weighed on investor sentiment, as surging oil prices sparked a sell-off in US stocks overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.65%.