Samsung Electronics and SK hynix shares were both weak early on the 13th. As uncertainty grew with international oil prices again topping $100 per barrel on risks stemming from the Middle East, investor sentiment appeared to have deteriorated.
As of 9:10 a.m. that day, Samsung Electronics was trading at 180,800 won, down 7,100 won (3.78%) from the previous session. At the same time, SK hynix was also trading down 3.98% at 893,000 won.
Overnight, concern grew that the war could last longer than expected after Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, elected as Iran's new supreme leader, declared an ultra-hardline response toward the United States and Israel, including a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
As a result, international oil prices surged. That is because the Strait of Hormuz is a strategic chokepoint through which 20% of the world's crude oil shipments pass.
On the previous day at the ICE Futures Exchange, May delivery Brent crude futures settled at $100.46 per barrel. Although it briefly crossed the $100 mark intraday on the 9th, this is the first time it closed above $100 on a closing basis in 3 years and 7 months since Aug. 2022.