Samsung Electronics Falls Below 200,000 Won as KOSPI Plunges 5% on Iran Strikes

Samsung Electronics shares dropped below the 200,000 won threshold on Tuesday as South Korean markets suffered their worst single-day decline in months following the U.S. military strikes on Iran.

The stock fell 7.99% to 199,200 won as of 1:44 p.m. local time, surrendering the landmark level it had first reached just last week. Samsung Electronics closed at a record high of 216,500 won on Feb. 27.

The benchmark KOSPI index plunged 5.79% to 5,882.86, breaching both the 6,000 and 5,900 levels during the session. The index opened 1.26% lower and accelerated losses throughout the day.

Market-cap leaders posted steep declines across the board. SK Hynix tumbled 8.34% to 972,500 won, falling below the 1 million won mark. Hyundai Motor dropped 10.61%, while Kia shed 10.71%. LG Energy Solution fell 7.03%, SK Square declined 8.37%, and Samsung Biologics lost 5.17%.

Wall Street showed resilience overnight despite heightened uncertainty. The S&P 500 edged up 0.04% to 6,881.62, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.36% to 22,748.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.15% to 48,904.78. Nvidia rose 2.99% and Microsoft added 1.48%. Energy stocks including Exxon Mobil and Chevron advanced on surging oil prices.

Asian markets bore the brunt of the geopolitical shock. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.35% on Monday after dropping as much as 2.7% intraday, and continued to slide on Tuesday. Taiwan's Taiex lost 0.9%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined more than 2%.

Analysts said South Korea's export-dependent economy makes its stock market particularly vulnerable to geopolitical volatility compared with U.S. markets.