The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) dropped 31-point-78 points, or one-point-30 percent, on Friday to close at two-thousand 404-point-15.

The index, which had opened at two-thousand-429-point-63, down six-point-30 points or zero-point-26 percent from Thursday’s trading session, had at one time during the day slipped below the 24-hundred mark for the first time since last Tuesday.

The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also shed 16-point-05 points, or two-point-35 percent, to close at 668-point-31.

The U.S. Federal Reserve’s unexpected announcement that there will only be two interest rate cuts in 2025 has ramped up market uncertainties. 

Initially, the Federal Reserve had projected four rate cuts for 2025.