Seoul stocks plunge over 2% on escalating Ukraine crisis

A currency trader talks on the phone in the foreign exchange dealing room at KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, Feb. 24. AP-Yonhap

Stocks on Korea's bourses plunged more than 2 percent Thursday as investor sentiment worsened over Russia's launch of military operations in eastern Ukraine. The Korean won also fell steeply against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark KOSPI tumbled 70.73 points, or 2.6 percent, to close at 2,648.80 points, on high trading volume of about 904 million shares worth 13.1 trillion won ($10.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 797 to 108.

Foreign and institutional investors dumped a net 681 billion won and 485 billion won, respectively, while retail investors bought 1.1 trillion won.

Stocks opened sharply lower, taking a cue from plunges on Wall Street that stemmed from military tensions in Ukraine.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.57 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.38 percent.

Stock losses deepened at home and around the world in the afternoon, briefly touching an intraday bottom of 2,642.63 points here, after reports that Russian forces had attacked targets across Ukraine.

"Overall, growing concerns related to the Ukraine crisis raised volatility in the financial markets. The U.S. bond yields steeply increased, markets grew unstable, and the intensifying tensions in Ukraine have further pulled down the stock prices," said Daeshin Securities analyst Lee Kyung-min.

Earlier in the morning, the Bank of Korea froze the benchmark seven-day repo rate at 1.25 percent, citing fallout from the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 2.05 percent to close at 71,500 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix dipped 4.67 percent to 122,500 won.

Internet portal operator Naver retreated 2.1 percent to 302,500 won, and top carmaker Hyundai Motor decreased 4.16 percent to 173,000 won.

Leading chemical firm LG Chem plunged 6.79 percent to 549,000 won, and giant battery maker LG Energy Solution shed 5.77 percent to 416,500 won.

The local currency closed at 1,202.4 won against the U.S. dollar, down 8.8 won from the previous session's close.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys lost 9.1 basis points to 2.226 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond fell 9.9 basis points to 2.423 percent. (Yonhap)