Seoul, March 23 (IANS) South Korean stocks were trading sharply lower on late Monday morning, as investors offloaded major shares after Iran warned it could close the Hormuz Strait indefinitely.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 293.84 points, or 5.08 percent, to 5,487.36 as of 11:20 a.m.

The index remained in negative territory, triggering the country's main bourse operator to temporarily halt program trading for five minutes, reports Yonhap news agency.

On Friday, major stock indexes on Wall Street closed lower, after Tehran dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump's ultimatum that the United States could hit Iran's power plants if the Hormuz Strait is not reopened by Monday evening.

Iran hit back, saying it could completely close the crucial waterway, which handles around one-fifth of global oil supplies.

Such a back-and-forth between the two countries raised concerns of further energy price hikes.

In Seoul, shares were in negative territory across the board.

Market top-cap Samsung Electronics lost 4.96 percent, while its rival SK hynix fell 5.46 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor dipped 5.03 percent, defence giant Hanwha Aerospace shed 5.15 percent, and portal operator Naver went down 4.74 percent.

The Korean won was trading at 1,509.5 won against the U.S. dollar, down 8.9 won from the previous session. It marked the lowest level since March 10, 2009, when it hit 1,511.1 won during the global financial crisis.

South Korea's main bourse operator issued a sell-side sidecar for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), temporarily halting trading after a sharp plunge.

Program trading for the KOSPI was suspended for five minutes at 9:18 a.m. according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).

A sell-side sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 Futures index dips 5 percent or more for at least one minute.

It marks the sixth time for the bourse operator to issue a sell-side sidecar this year.

—IANS

na/