The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) on Thursday fell 36-point-53 points, or one-point-45 percent, closing the day at two-thousand-476-point-37.

The bourse continued to take a tumble after a heavy sell-off of major IT stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as investors anticipate a slowdown in the global demand for semiconductors.
 
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also closed down, losing ten-point-30-points or one-point-32 percent. It closed the day at 771-point-42.

On the foreign exchange market, the value of the local currency weakened eleven-point-four won against the U.S. dollar, closing at one-thousand-88-point-two won.

Analysts say that Bank of Korea's decision to raise the benchmark rate on Thursday was largely expected and already reflected in financial markets.