Seoul, March 4 (QNA) - South Korean stocks plunged more than 12% on Wednesday, while the Korean won weakened sharply against the US dollar, as escalating tensions in the Middle East heightened concerns over the global economic outlook.

The benchmark KOSPI index extended its losses, falling 698.37 points, or 12.06%, to close at 5,093.54 points after declining 7.24% in the previous session.

The Korea Exchange activated its trading halt mechanism shortly after the KOSPI index dropped more than 8%, as heightened geopolitical tensions triggered a sharp sell-off in the market.

Meanwhile, the Korean won weakened to 1,476.20 per US dollar, down 10.1 won from the previous session's close.

Global markets have experienced heightened volatility and investor uncertainty over the outlook for the global economy following the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East after US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran last Saturday and Tehran's subsequent retaliatory missile attacks. (QNA)