The won-dollar exchange rate and the benchmark KOSPI are displayed on a screen in Hana Bank, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
Korean stocks were trading more than 3 percent lower late Wednesday morning amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran and sharp losses in technology shares.
After opening 2.43 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended losses, shedding 286.99 points, or 3.54 percent, to 7,809.94 as of 11:20 a.m.
The KOSPI lost ground on reports that the U.S. has struck Iran in response to the shooting down of an American Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran hit back.
Market sentiment was also weighed down as doubts over the valuation of stocks related to artificial intelligence (AI) resurfaced on news that Crusoe Energy Systems, a data center developer, suspended one of its projects upon the request of an unidentified big tech customer.
