The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dived 86.32 points, or 3.66 percent, to settle at 2,274.22. Trading volume stood at 890.9 million shares worth 16.9 trillion won (14.2 billion U.S. dollars).
It was the highest daily fall in about two months since June 15. Concerns emerged about the U.S. economic slump after the announcement of the minutes for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held on July 28-29.
According to the minutes, the U.S. Federal Reserve officials believed that uncertainty surrounding the U.S. economic outlook remained "very elevated," with the path of the economy highly dependent on the course of the virus.
The FOMC, the Fed's policy-setting body, kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record-low range of 0-0.25 percent in late July, while warning that a recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases nationwide started to weigh on economic recovery.
Adding to the concerns, the COVID-19 infections rapidly spread here in recent days. The number of confirmed cases jumped 288 for the past 24 hours as of 0:00 a.m. Thursday local time, raising the combined infections to 16,346.
The daily caseload soared in triple digits for seven straight days due to cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province traceable to church services.
Foreign and institutional investors dumped domestic stocks, but retail investors bought shares, limiting the KOSPI's further decline.
Most large-cap shares lost ground. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics tumbled 4.2 percent, and memory chip giant SK Hynix retreated 4.3 percent. The country's biggest automaker Hyundai Motor plunged 5.8 percent, but the biopharmaceutical giant Celltrion added 0.3 percent.
The local currency finished at 1,186.9 won versus the greenback, down 5.7 won from the previous close.
Bond prices ended lower. Yields on the liquid three-year treasury notes rose 0.8 basis points to 0.813 percent, and the return on the 10-year government bonds added 3.2 basis points to 1.379 percent.
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