Seoul shares tumbled on Tuesday, performing worse than Asian peers, with investors rushing to dump stocks in post-holiday trade. The selloff prompted pension funds to step in. They snapped up 240.8 billion won worth of shares, their largest daily purchase since August 9, helping trim losses. But foreign investors ended a four-session buying streak, offloading a net 456 billion won ($387.1 million) worth of stocks.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished down 3.59 percent at 1,706.19 points, after plummeting as much as 6.3 percent earlier in the session. Programme trading was suspended briefly on the main stock market due to drastic falls in futures. "Shares fell sharply after the market took a break for a day. Later in the session whenever the market tumbled, pension funds flowed in, helping narrow losses," said Kim Chul-jung, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.