South Korea’s benchmark stock index hit a month-low on Monday while its currency rate against the dollar topped one-thousand-350 won following the U.S. Fed’s indication of further aggressive key rate hikes down the road.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) shed 54-point-14 points, or two-point-18 percent, on Monday, to close the day at two-thousand-426-point-89.
It is the lowest closing level since the index hit two-thousand-415-point-53 points on July 27.
The tumble came after U.S. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at Friday’s Jackson Hole meeting that higher interest rates will likely persist “for some time.”
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also plummeted, losing 22-point-56 points, or two-point-81 percent, to close at 779-point-89.
On the foreign exchange, the local currency weakened 19-point-one won against the dollar, ending the day at one-thousand-350-point-four won.
It is the first time the won-dollar exchange rate closed at over one-thousand-350 since April 28 of 2009, when it hit one-thousand-356-point-eight.
Source: KBS World Radio