KOSPI opens sharply lower amid inflation woes, US losses

Korean stocks opened sharply lower Monday, triggering a sell-side sidecar for a second consecutive session as investors tracked declines on Wall Street last week amid rising woes over inflation caused by the deadlocked situation in the Middle East. After starting 0.67 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had further extended losses to shed 317.8 points, or 4.24 percent, to 7,175.38 as of 9:15 a.m. The index fell as low as 7,142.71 at one point, or more than 5 percent. At around 9:19 a.m., program trading for the KOSPI was suspended for five minutes. The country's bourse operator issues the order when the KOSPI 200 futures rise or fall by more than 5 percent. On Friday (local time), U.S. stocks retreated from record highs amid persistent concerns over rising oil prices driven by ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.07 percent, while the S&P 500 fell 1.24 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 1.54 percent. In Seoul, technology shares faced widespread profit-taking following their recent rally