US-Iran Conflict Slams Japan and South Korea Stocks; Kospi Drops 4% as Samsung, SK Hynix Plunge, Nikkei Falls Below 65,000, SoftBank Tumbles Over 6%

TradingKey - Crude Oil Surge Sparks Inflation Panic! Japanese and South Korean Stocks Plunge Across the Board, SoftBank Tumbles Over 6%, Samsung and SK Hynix Both Fall Over 4%.

During Asian trading hours on September 2, Japanese and South Korean stock markets both moved lower, with core stock indices posting noticeable declines. Among them, the KOSPI tumbled 3.99%, nearing the 6,500 mark and closing at 6,562.72 points. Both heavyweights fell over 4%, with Samsung Electronics falling 4.02% to close at 250,500 KRW, and SK Hynix tumbling 4.73% to 1,613,000 KRW.

KOSPI Index Chart, Source: TradingView

The Nikkei 225 Index fell 2.85%, once again losing the 65,000 mark to close at 64,325.59 points. The two major heavyweights saw mixed movements, with Kioxia remaining flat to close at 51,000 JPY, while SoftBank plummeted 6.42%, falling below the 5,000 mark to close at 4,924 JPY.

The sharp drop in Japanese and South Korean stock markets was mainly weighed down by multiple factors, including escalating geopolitical tensions, inflation fears sparked by rising crude oil prices, and a pullback in US equities. Recently, intensifying tensions between the US and Iran caused international oil prices to jump. The market worries that supply chain disruptions and rising energy costs will delay global central banks' rate cuts, with tech and semiconductor heavyweights leading the decline as risk-off sentiment rapidly spread across Asia-Pacific markets.