Kospi nose-dives 200 points to plunge below 2,500 mark

The benchmark Kospi traded at 2,492.40 points as of 1:04 p.m. Monday, down by 183.79 points or 6.87 percent from the previous trading day.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi opening on Monday. [NEWS1]

Korea’s main stock index tanked below the 2,500 mark on Monday, falling more than 200 points.

The benchmark Kospi traded at 2,471.27 points as of 2:01 p.m. Monday, down by 204.92 points or 7.66 percent from the previous trading day.

The Monday plunge marked the biggest drop ever recorded mid-trading in Korea, breaking the previous record of an 184.77 point drop logged on August 9, 2011.

Foreigners are driving the plunge, selling 1.34 trillion won ($987 million) worth of shares as of 1:10 p.m.

The Korea Exchange activated a sidecar curb at 11 a.m. for five minutes as the market continued the free fall that began at the start of trading.

Update, Aug. 5: Updated number of points dropped.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]