Seoul Stocks Tumble on Wall Street Fall

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Thursday as institutions and retail investors dumped blue chips in the wake of the overnight fall on Wall Street.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 21.47 points, or 1.21 percent, to 1,760.2 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Large-cap shares fell sharply, with steel-making and transportation equipment stocks leading the downturn. POSCO tumbled more than 3 percent and Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's top shipbuilder, fell more than 2 percent.

Samsung Electronics and top lender Kookmin Bank opened in negative terrain.

U.S. stocks tumbled Wednesday as oil prices rebounded to $136.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, raising fears that inflation will loom large globally. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.68 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index plunged 2.24 percent.

The tech-savvy Kosdaq market tumbled 4.74 points, or 0.75 percent, to 623.93.

Meanwhile, the Korean won was trading at 1,029.7 won to the U.S. dollar, up 0.3 won from Wednesday's close.