NewsHK
Rising oil prices and escalating geopolitical tensions pulled South Korea's stock market lower from the opening bell, with investor sentiment giving ground across the board.
The combination of an energy cost shock and a deteriorating geopolitical backdrop left buyers with little immediate reason to step in. Oil carries particular weight for South Korean equities.
The country's economy is built substantially on energy-intensive manufacturing and exports, and it imports the crude that feeds that model.
A move higher in oil prices is therefore a cost event that runs through the industrial base well before it shows up in reported earnings. Traders familiar with the Korean equity cycle know the sequence.
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