South Korea's Kospi index drops 13% on Mideast worries

South Korea's benchmark Kospi index tumbled more than 12 percent on Wednesday as Middle East turmoil sparked a prolonged sell-off across world markets.
The Kospi dropped 12.6 percent to 5,065.14 in early afternoon trade, as investors globally ran to the hills in the wake of the US-Israel bombing of Iran that has sparked fears of a region-wide war.

That came after it had tumbled 7.2 percent on Tuesday, meaning it has suffered its worst two-day performance since 2008 during the global financial crisis, according to Bloomberg data.


The crisis has sent the price of oil surging more than 10 percent this week, fanning inflation fears and raising concerns among export-dependent economies.

South Korea is the fourth-largest importer of crude oil in the world, according to US government figures, and relies heavily on fuel shipped from the Middle East.

The Kospi had soared more than 50 percent this year -- having hit multiple records -- as the rush to snap up all things linked to artificial intelligence boosted tech firms, particularly chip makers Samsung and SK hynix.