Seoul, March 12 South Korean stocks continued to trade lower late on Thursday morning as investors sat on the sidelines amid lingering oil price swings sparked by the US-Iran war.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 43.49 points, or 0.78 percent, to 5,566.46 as of 11:20 a.m.
The International Energy Agency announced a plan to release oil reserves to ease woes over supply disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz, though investors remained concerned about potential long-term instability at the key waterway, reports Yonhap news agency.
Top tech giant Samsung Electronics fell 1.37, and SK hynix shed 1.36 percent.
Brokerage houses traded lower, with Mirae Asset Securities falling 1.68 percent and Kiwoom Securities losing 0.33 percent.
Refiners, on the other hand, traded higher, with SK Innovation advancing 2.59 percent and S-Oil gaining 1.92 percent.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 0.54 percent, while Samsung SDI lost 0.62 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,478.9 won against the U.S. dollar, down 12.4 won from the previous session.
Meanwhile, the government will provide full support for businesses by using all available measures to counter heightened economic uncertainty stemming from the Middle East crisis, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Thursday.
"As the Middle East situation has continued for over two weeks, global economic uncertainty is higher than ever," Koo said at the inaugural meeting of a consultative body formed between the finance ministry and six major business lobby groups.
He added that the government will mobilise financial, tax and regulatory tools to provide full-scale support for businesses to expand their international presence.
Koo also emphasised the importance of startups, promising expanded support and incentives to help them grow into global unicorns.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who leads the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the business community would actively respond to the government's efforts.
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