Seoul shares sink over 5 pct on U.S. slowdown fears

South Korean stocks tumbled more than 5 percent late Monday morning as fears of a U.S. economic slowdown weighed heavily on the local financial market, with a five-minute trade halt issued. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had fallen 140.25 points, or 5.24 percent, to 2,535.94 as of 11:20 a.m. During the session, the bourse operator issued a sidecar order at 11:00 a.m., halting program trading for five minutes, after the KOSPI 200 index fell over 5 percent for more than 1 minute. U.S. stocks fell for the second consecutive session Friday last week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding 1.51 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sinking 2.43 percent. A disappointing jobs report spurred investor fears that the world's largest economy is headed toward a recession. In Seoul, most shares traded negative across the board. Tech shares were among the biggest losers, with major chipmaker SK hynix slumping 5.6 percent and flat screen manufacturer LG Display declining 5.77 per cent. Top oil refinery SK Innovation fell 4.12 percent, and major game publisher NCSOFT decreased 5.41 percent. Leading cosmetics maker LG H and H dropped 4.24 percent, and defense company Hanwha Aerospace went down 2.08 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,360.45 won against the U.S. dollar, down 10.75 won from the previous session. Source: Yonhap News Agency