Seoul, March 9 : South Korean stocks plummeted around 8 per cent on late Monday morning after the Korea Exchange (KRX) resumed transactions following a 20-minute trading suspension amid extreme volatility triggered by recent US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 445.88 points, or 7.98 percent, to 5,138.99 as of 11:20 a.m, reports Yonhap news agency.

The KRX activated a circuit breaker at 10:31 a.m. after the KOSPI plunged 452.8 points, or 8.11 percent, to 5,132.07, suspending trading for 20 minutes.

A circuit breaker is triggered when the index stays 8 per cent below the previous session's level for one minute.

The KRX issued a circuit breaker Wednesday last week as well, when the main index crashed 12.06 percent, marking the steepest one-day decline since Sept. 12, 2001, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Earlier in the day, the main bourse operator activated a sell-side sidecar, suspending sales for five minutes, which is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures index moves 5 percent or more for at least one minute.

Investors kept watchful eyes on the global energy price volatility, with the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude surpassing US$100 per barrel Sunday (U.S. time).

The market also reacted to weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data released last week, as nonfarm payrolls fell by 92,000 in February, missing market expectations for a gain of 59,000.

In Seoul, oil refiners traded mixed, with SK Innovation falling 2.8 percent, while S-Oil moved up 3.16 percent.

Top market cap Samsung Electronics sank 9.94 percent, and SK hynix moved down 10.98 percent.

Financial shares lost ground as well, with KB Financial dipping 5.7 percent and Shinhan Financial decreasing 4.68 percent.

Hanwha Aerospace dipped 4.86 percent, and Hanwha Ocean surrendered 3.95 percent.

POSCO International, a trading firm, moved up 11.06 percent as investors were optimistic over the firm's energy business portfolio.

The Korean won was trading at 1,497.3 won against the U.S. dollar, down 20.9 won from the previous session.

/IANS