Koreas fight sends stocks in a free fall

HONG KONG - World stocks took a hit from news that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had fired dozens of artillery rounds into rival Republic of Korea's (ROK) territory.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 2.7 percent to 22,896.14 and India's Sensex was down 2.1 percent at 19,548.51. Singapore's index lost 1.6 percent to 19,548.51.

ROK's Kospi, already closed for the day when news of the attack came out, lost 0.8 percent to 1,928.94.