This photo, taken Tuesday, shows the trading room of Hana Bank in Seoul as South Korean stocks tumbled nearly 10 percent on a massive tech sell-off. Photo by Yonhap
South Korean stocks tumbled nearly 10 percent Tuesday as foreign investors dumped major semiconductor shares and other market heavyweights amid profit-taking, tracking overnight losses in U.S. technology stocks. The local currency weakened against the U.S. dollar.
After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 910.71 points, or 9.99 percent, to close at 8,203.84. The index hit an intra-day high of 9,175.45.
The Korea Exchange (KRX), the bourse operator, activated a circuit breaker at around 2:33 p.m. after the KOSPI plummeted more than 8 percent from the previous session's close.
It marked the fourth time this year and the 10th time on record that the KRX has halted trading of all stocks for 20 minutes.
