Kospi closes below 2,300-mark on Friday

The Kospi closed below the 2,300-mark Friday as the index dropped 1.81 percent, or 42.31 points, to 2,290.00 amid mounting fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening could trigger a deepening recession.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,290.00 points on Friday, down 42.31 points, or 1.81 percent, from the previous trading day. [YONHAP]

The Kospi closed below the 2,300-mark Friday as the index dropped 1.81 percent, or 42.31 points, to 2,290.00 amid mounting fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s aggressive tightening could trigger a deepening recession.

It has been two months since the Kospi dropped below 2,300, when it hit 2,293.45 points on July 15.

The ruling People Power Party earlier in the day urged that the government come up with measures to stabilize the country's financial market and the fast weakening local currency following the Fed's 75 basis-point rate hike.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]