Asian Stock Markets Close Lower

 HONG KONG, March 9 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's stock market ended lower on Monday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 1.35 per cent to close at 25,408.46 points, reported Xinhua.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 0.54 per cent to end at 8,581.46 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index edged down 0.12 per cent to end at 4,941.73 points.

In Tokyo, Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index lost over 2,800 points on Monday, marking the third largest point drop in history.

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The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 2,892.12 points, or 5.20 per cent, from Friday at 52,728.72.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 141.09 points, or 3.80 per cent, lower at 3,575.84.

On the stock market, the Nikkei stock index briefly plunged over 7 per cent in morning trading, as crude oil futures surged to the highest level since June 2022 amid growing concerns about a prolonged conflict in the Middle East, analysts said.  

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In Seoul, South Korean stocks on Monday suffered a massive sell-off amid escalating Middle East conflict and surging global oil prices.

The benchmark KOSPI dived 333.00 points, or 5.96 per cent, to close at 5,251.87, and the smaller KOSDAQ plunged 52.39 points, or 4.54 per cent, to finish at 1,102.28.

The KOSPI opened 5.72 per cent lower and plummeted over 8 per cent during the trading, triggering a circuit breaker in the KOSPI market in the morning session.

The level 1 circuit breaker is activated when the index drops more than 8 percent for at least 1 minute to suspend trading for 20 minutes.

After the 20-minute suspension, trading resumes following a 10-minute single-price auction period.    In the KOSDAQ market, a sell-sidecar was issued to halt program trading orders for five minutes.

The KOSDAQ sidecar is triggered when the KOSDAQ 150 futures rise or fall by over 6 per cent and the KOSDAQ 150 index rises or falls by over 3 percent simultaneously for at least 1 minute.

Foreign and institutional investors dumped shares in a panic as global oil prices neared US$120 per barrel.

The South Korean won versus the US dollar exchange rate finished its daytime session at 1,495.5 won per dollar as of 3:30 pm local time (0630 GMT), up 19.1 won from the previous session's daytime close.

It reflected a strong preference for safe-haven assets, such as the greenback, amid rising worry about the prolonged Middle East conflict.

In an emergency meeting to address the impact of the Middle East conflict, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ordered a swift implementation of the so-called "maximum petroleum price system" to curb the rapid surge in fuel costs at gas stations.

Lee instructed officials to prepare for worst-case scenarios by closely monitoring exchange rates, stock markets and global commodity prices, while directing the use of the 100 trillion-won (US$66.9 billion) market stabilisation programme.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics and memory chip giant SK Hynix retreated 7.81 per cent and 9.52 per cent each.

The country's top automaker Hyundai Motor dipped 8.32 per cent, and the largest battery maker LG Energy Solution diminished 4.77 per cent.

The No 1 biopharmaceutical contract manufacturer Samsung Biologics fell 3.95 per cent, and the leading aerospace and defense company Hanwha Aerospace declined 3.17 per cent.

The biggest shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries picked up 3.97 per cent, but the energy infrastructure leader Doosan Enerbility was down 1.84 per cent. 

--BERNAMA-XINHUA