SKorean stocks fall more than 6 pct after US drop

South Korean stocks plunged Tuesday amid investor jitters over turmoil in the U.S. financial industry, including Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s bankruptcy filing.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index declined 6.1 percent, or 90.17 points to close at 1,387.75, the third-biggest point drop ever. At one point, it was down 7.1 percent.

Markets were closed Monday, so this was the first opportunity investors had to react to the drama on Wall Street that started early Monday with news of Lehman's collapse and followed with Merrill Lynch announcing it was being bought by Bank of America Corp. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 4.42 percent to 10,917.51 Monday.

South Korean banks declined. Top lender Kookmin Bank shares sank 8 percent to 55,300 won ($48). Hana Financial Group shares, which had earlier fallen 10 percent, recovered to close 1.9 percent lower at 36,050 won ($31).

Separately, South Korea's financial regulator said it had suspended some operations of two local units of Lehman Brothers.

The Financial Supervisory Service said in a press release that the move was aimed at "preserving the assets of (Lehman's) Seoul branch, protecting domestic investors ... and preventing confusion in domestic financial markets."