South Korean stocks tumbled sharply on Tuesday, pressured by an overnight sell-off in U.S. technology shares, with foreign investors continuing to offload major Korean tech stocks. The Korean won also weakened against the U.S. dollar.

After volatile trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 244.38 points, or 3.25 percent, to close at 7,271.66.

The index opened 1.2 percent lower and plunged as much as 4.98 percent to 7,141.91 in the morning session. It recovered some losses in the afternoon but remained highly volatile throughout the day.

Overnight, U.S. stocks closed mixed as investors remained cautious after U.S. President Donald Trump stated he had called off a military strike on Iran at the request of Gulf state leaders.

Several major U.S. tech stocks, including Apple and Microsoft, closed lower. Investors were also awaiting earnings results from AI chip giant Nvidia, scheduled for release later this week.

Foreign investors sold Korean shares for the ninth consecutive trading day, with selling focused on chipmakers, automakers, and other major market players.

Shares of Samsung Electronics fell 1.96 percent to close at 275,500 won, while SK Hynix dropped 5.16 percent to 1,745,000 won.

As of 3:30 p.m. local time, the Korean won was trading at 1,507.8 won against the U.S. dollar, down 7.5 won from the previous session.