South Korea's benchmark Kospi index sank more than 7% on Thursday as a sell-off of technology shares deepened after U.S. stocks fell on hotter-than-expected inflation data.

The Kospi index lost 7. 1% in early trading to 5,584. 83.

Samsung Electronics slid 8. 2% and South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix plunged 10. 8%.