SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Yonhap) -- Six people have been rounded up on suspicion of manipulating stock prices by spreading false rumors of a nuclear explosion in North Korea, police said Tuesday.

The rumors hit South Korean stock markets on Jan. 6, causing the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) to fall 1.11 percent, after shedding as much as 2.12 percent at one point. The local currency depreciated 0.88 percent against the greenback.