By Kim Jae-kyoung
Staff Reporter
The Seoul stock markets suffered precipitous falls Thursday on renewed panic selling here triggered by the overnight collapse of stock markets in the United States and Europe.
The market meltdown came after growing fears that international bank rescue efforts won't be able to prevent a global recession pulled down the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 733.08 points or 7.87 percent to 8,577.91.
The key KOSPI nose-dived 126.5 points, or 9.44 percent, to close at 1,213.78, its biggest one-day drop in market history. The junior KOSDAQ also plunged 35.85 points, or 9.19 percent, to finish at 353.43.
Samsung Economic Research Institute chief economist Kwon Soon-woo said, ``The stock market crash was mainly caused by growing fears over a global economic recession. But it alone cannot fully explain the extreme volatility.
``I think the disorderly movement reflects foreign investors' increasingly gloomy view of the Korean economy and financial market, which is evident in S&P's recent downgrade of its outlook on local banks' credit ratings.''
Foreign investors led the market crash by dumping shares worth 636.3 billion won, while individual investors purchased 571.9 billion won worth.