The Kospi fell 231.42 points, or 3.29%, to 6,802.50 at Friday’s opening bell, tracking an overnight sell-off in U.S. stocks. Surging oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East weighed on Wall Street, while stronger U.S. inflation data increased expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates to curb price pressures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.65%. The U.S. producer price index (PPI), a measure of wholesale inflation, rose 0.4% in August from the previous month, accelerating from a 0.1% gain in July. Investors were awaiting Friday’s consumer price report for further clues about the Fed’s future rate path.