Samsung Electronics and SK hynix weakened in pre-market trading on Nextrade (NXT) as Middle East tensions, higher oil prices, rising government bond yields and expectations for a U.S. Federal Reserve rate increase weighed on risk appetite. At 8:15 a.m. on the 14th, Samsung Electronics was at 254,000 won, down 5,500 won, or 2.12%, from its reference price, while SK hynix was at 1.755 million won, down 57,000 won, or 3.15%. Concerns about disruptions to crude exports through the Red Sea increased after Yemen's pro-Iran Houthi rebels seized strategic points around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while a planned meeting involving Iran, Iraq and Gulf states was postponed. U.S. stocks had rebounded on the 11th, supported by lower oil prices and optimism over data-center investment after Oracle's earnings, but August inflation strengthened expectations for a September rate increase. CME FedWatch put the implied probability of a 0.25 percentage point increase at about 87%, up from around 60% before the CPI release. Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young said short-term volatility was unavoidable but recommended using the weakness to increase equity holdings rather than cash.