Seoul, April 7 : South Korean stocks nosedived more than 5.5 percent on Monday, extending their losing streak to a fourth consecutive day, as investors panicked over an escalating global trade war triggered by US reciprocal tariffs. The Korean won fell by the most since the COVID-19 pandemic against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 137.22 points, or 5.57 percent, to close at 2,328.20. The tech-laden KOSDAQ also dipped 5.8 percent, reports Yonhap news agency.

Shortly after the stock market opened, the bourse operator issued the first sidecar order since August 2024, halting program purchasing for five minutes, after the KOSPI 200 index shed over 5 percent for more than 1 minute, reports

Trade volume was a bit heavy at 615.2 million shares worth 10.5 trillion won ($7.16 billion), with losers far outnumbering winners 862 to 68.

Foreigners dumped 2.09 trillion won worth of local shares, while retail investors and institutions purchased 1.67 trillion won and 253.2 billion won, respectively.

The KOSPI nosedived as investors dumped stocks amid growing fears of a recession following the Trump administration's announcement of reciprocal tariffs last week, prompting China to fire back with 34 percent tariffs on U.S. goods and export controls on rare earths, while threatening additional steps in the near future.

"Volatility in the Korean stock markets heightened on the Trump administration's stronger-than-expected tariff policies," Park Seok-joong, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, said.

"None of the Korean export industries will be able to evade the influence of the U.S. tariff scheme."

Wall Street saw its worst week since the COVID-19 pandemic last week, with the S&P 500 plunging 6 percent Friday (U.S. time), while the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 5.8 percent.

In Seoul, many big-cap shares slid to hit their lowest mark in a year.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics slid 5.17 percent to 53,200 won, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix shot down 9.55 percent to 164,800 won.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor sank 6.62 percent to 179,100 won, and major defense firm Hanwha Aerospace plunged 8.55 percent to 642,000 won.

Leading shipbuilders Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy plummeted 9.81 percent and 8.17 percent to 62,500 won and 275,500 won, respectively.

Major bio company Samsung Biologics lost 5.71 percent to 1.01 million won, and steel giant POSCO Holdings slumped 6.59 percent to 255,000 won.

Financial shares also sharply went down, with KB Financial dipping 6.95 percent to 72,300 won and Meritz Financial losing 5.66 percent to 111,700 won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,467.8 won per dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 33.7 won from the previous session.

It marked the steepest single-day decline since March 19, 2020, when the currency dropped by 40 won amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

/IANS