Japan, South Korea Stocks Open Lower and Extend Losses; Kospi, Nikkei 225 Drop Over 1% as Samsung, SK Hynix and Kioxia Slump

TradingKey - Japanese and South Korean stock markets drop sharply at open! South Korean stocks fall 1.05%, losing the 6,800 mark; Nikkei falls over 1%, with chip heavyweights opening lower across the board.

On Tuesday (September 1) Asian time, impacted by the decline in US stocks in the previous trading session, both Japanese and South Korean markets opened lower and continued to slide. South Korea's KOSPI Index opened down 1.05%, losing the 6,800 mark to trade at 6,748.49 points. The two major heavyweights also opened lower, with Samsung Electronics falling 1.35%, dropping below the 260,000 mark to trade at 256,500 KRW; SK Hynix fell 0.66% to trade at 1,663,000 KRW.

KOSPI Index Chart, Source: TradingView

The Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.01%, trading at 65,643.98 points; two major heavyweights also declined, with Kioxia falling 2.04%, losing the 49,000 mark to trade at 48,970 JPY, while SoftBank shares fell 1.33% to trade at 5,131 JPY.

US stocks weakened overnight as all three major indices dropped, while softness in the US semiconductor sector triggered morning pullbacks in heavyweights Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Japanese chip equipment stocks, weighing on sentiment at the Asian market open. In addition, renewed Middle East tensions drove a sharp rise in international crude oil prices (USOIL), which broke above $85/barrel this morning, sparking market concerns over rebounding inflation and central banks maintaining high interest rates.