The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) fell sharply Tuesday after investors sold to claim recent gains amid U.S. tariff worries.

The KOSPI fell 40-point-87 points, or one-point-27 percent, Tuesday to close at three-thousand-169-point-94.

This comes as investors await second-quarter corporate earnings, due this week, and the potential announcement of new unilateral tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump before August 1. 

Despite the uncertainty, the South Korean won gained against the U.S. dollar, with the exchange rate quoted at one-thousand-387-point-80 won per dollar at 3:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy KOSDAQ lost eight-point-72 points, or one-point-06 percent, to close at 812-point-97.