A dealer looks at a signboard displaying the KOSPI index at Hana Bank in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
Seoul stocks were trading sharply lower late Friday morning as investors sold off tech heavyweights amid concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 345.3 points, or 4.87 percent, to 6,751.56 as of 11:36 a.m.
After opening lower, the index widened its losses as foreigners and institutional investors dumped shares in tech, finance and automakers, triggering the bourse operator to temporarily halt program trading for KOSPI-listed stocks at 11:28 a.m.
U.S. stocks closed lower overnight, as U.S. President Donald Trump's threat he could decide on a "massive attack" on Iran heightened anxiety over the ongoing war between Washington and Tehran.
