South Korean shares opened more than 3 per cent down on Tuesday, following a global sell-off triggered by a downgrade of the US national debt last week by a credit rating agency.
The KOSPI index of large companies fell 3.3 per cent on opening, and the technology-focused KOSDAQ was down 3.7 per cent.
The United States and Europe are key export markets for Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the United States shed 5.55 per cent to 10,809.85, after the benchmark Europe Stoxx 600 share index earlier closed 4.14 per cent down at 228.98.
