SEOUL-- South Korean stocks sank more than 1 percent Monday to extend their losing streak to a fourth session on concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening and a global recession. The local currency sharply fell against the U.S. dollar.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 30.19 points, or 1.21 percent, to close at 2,462.50.

Trading volume was a bit slim at 412.69 million shares worth 6.01 trillion won (US$4.48 billion), with decliners far outpacing gainers 771 to 127.

Institutions sold a net 237.79 billion won worth of shares, while individuals and foreign investors picked up shares worth 131.43 billion won and 116.8 billion won, respectively.

"Investors worried about the Fed's further monetary tightening, which led to a sharp fall of the Korean won and, subsequently, the stock index," said Kwak Byeong-ryeol, an analyst at Leading Investment & Securities Co.

The minutes of the Fed's July meeting released last week showed that it would continue to push for aggressive monetary tightening to tame inflation.

"Volatility is expected to continue throughout this week, as investors await the Fed's latest message on its policy directions that could be rolled out at the Jackson Hole symposium," he added.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak on inflation and the economic outlook at the annual meeting on Friday (U.S. time).

In Seoul on Monday, most big-cap shares lost ground, with tech and bio shares leading the fall.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.48 percent to 60,000 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 1.24 percent to 95,200 won.

Major battery maker LG Energy Solution went down 1.01 percent to 442,500 won, and LG Chem inched down 0.16 percent to 639,000 won.

Samsung Biologics, the biotech arm of South Korea's Samsung Group, tumbled 1.96 percent to 851,000 won, and pharmaceutical giant Celltrion fell 0.74 percent to 200,000 won.

Samsung SDI sank 2.91 percent to 600,000 won, and top steelmaker POSCO Holdings decreased 2.35 percent to 249,000 won.

Internet portal giant Naver also fell 1.01 percent to 245,500 won, and platform operator Kakao dived 2.22 percent to 75,000 won.

Major carmakers ended mixed. Hyundai Motor lost 0.53 percent to 189,000 won, and its smaller affiliate Kia inched up 0.26 percent to 77,400 won.

SOCAR, South Korea's largest car-sharing platform operator, traded 6.07 percent lower to end at 26,300 won on the day of its market debut.

The local currency ended at 1,339.8 won against the U.S. dollar, down 13.9 won from the previous session's close. It marked the first time that the won has slid to the 1,330 level against the greenback since April 2009.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 4.8 basis points to 3.245 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond climbed 4.0 basis points to 3.316 percent.

Source: Yonhap News Agency