Seoul Stocks Fall as Oil-Driven Inflation Fears Hit Tech Shares

South Korean shares fell in early trading Monday as higher oil prices and escalating tensions in the Middle East revived concerns about inflation and the path of global interest rates. Technology stocks led the retreat, outweighing a positive finish on Wall Street at the end of the previous week.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index opened 0.72 percent lower and extended its decline to 1.26 percent by 9:15 a.m., when it stood at 6,542.21. The move represented a drop of 83.72 points from the previous close.

The weakness in Seoul contrasted with gains in the United States on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.83 percent, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.64 percent. Korean investors instead focused on the risk that renewed instability in the Middle East could disrupt energy supplies and keep price pressures elevated.

Oil prices advanced after renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s main airport over the weekend intensified concerns about a wider regional conflict. A sustained increase in energy costs could feed into consumer prices and complicate the outlook for monetary policy. That, in turn, could increase pressure on the US Federal Reserve to tighten policy, a prospect that tends to weigh on growth stocks and emerging-market assets.

Major Korean technology names were among the biggest drags. Samsung Electronics declined 0.95 percent, while SK hynix fell 2.71 percent. The selling also extended to industrial and defense shares: Hanwha Aerospace dropped 2.13 percent, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries lost 4.04 percent.

Hyundai Motor bucked the broader decline with a 1.46 percent gain. Shipping company HMM, however, fell 3.49 percent. The moves showed that the market’s caution was not limited to chipmakers, as investors reassessed the potential effects of higher fuel costs and geopolitical disruption across several sectors.

In the foreign-exchange market, the Korean won traded at 1,338.65 won per US dollar, 3.35 won weaker than the previous stock-trading session’s close. A softer won can raise the local cost of imported energy, adding another channel through which an oil-price shock may affect inflation expectations.

The early-session decline left Seoul’s market sensitive to further developments in oil prices, regional security and expectations for US interest rates. Investors will also be watching whether losses remain concentrated in large technology and industrial stocks or broaden as trading continues.