News of Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran early Friday has prompted the local main bourse to tumble over three percent before rebounding slightly.

The benchmark KOSPI shed one-point-63 percent to close at two-thousand-591-point-86, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ lost one-point-61 percent, closing at 841-point-91.

At one point on Friday morning, the KOSPI plunged three-point-08 percent to two-thousand-553-point-55.

It was the first time since February 2 that the benchmark index dipped below two-thousand-560 in mid trading.

The foreign exchange rate also responded to the news, with the Korean won closing nine-point-three won weaker against the U.S. dollar at one-thousand-382-point-two won.