South Korean stocks opened lower on Monday amid the continuing global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) fell over three percent early in the morning before gaining some ground later in the session. As of 10:42 a.m., the index hit one-thousand-678-point-39 points, down by 39-point-34 points, or two-point-29 percent, from Friday’s closing. 

Last Friday, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 915-point-39 points, or four-point-06 percent, closing the day at 21-thousand-636-point-78 points. Even U.S. President Donald Trump’s signing of a two-trillion-dollar stimulus package failed to ease investors’ anxiety. 

Dow futures dropped 187 points on Sunday night, pointing to a tentative fall of about 260 points at the Monday open.