Goldman Sachs & Co., one of the world 's major investment bank, forecasted that South Korea's Benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) is likely to nosedive to as low as 735, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Asian stocks will likely to fall below last year's lows amid the worst outlook for the global economy in more than 50 years and because valuations haven't declined enough, Goldman Sachs said.

Investors should hedge their risks in regional markets, especially South Korea, the Goldman Sachs analysts added.

The report continued to predict that the KOSPI could drop to as low as 735 this year before ending 2009 at about 945.

The report appraised South Korea as the "most vulnerable" among the region's markets because of the outlook for economic growth and earnings.

The KOSPI closed at 1,018 points on Monday.

(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2009)