“South Korea’s currency recovered, while stocks fell on Wednesday, as investors braced for prolonged political uncertainty following a brief martial law decree declared by President Yun Suk-yeol.”, — write: epravda.com.ua
South Korea’s currency recovered, while stocks fell on Wednesday, as investors braced for prolonged political uncertainty following a brief martial law decree declared by President Yun Suk-yeol. Bloomberg writes about it. It rose 1.6% to 1,406.35 per dollar, recovering almost all of its overnight losses. The Kospi index fell 2.3%, while a measure of stock market volatility was on track for its biggest gain in three months. Credit-default swaps on South Korea’s sovereign debt increased by 2.75 basis points. Yoon sparked chaos with his late-night decree on Tuesday, which sent it and South Korea-linked stock funds plummeting overnight.Advertisement: While extreme anxiety dissipated when financial authorities quickly promised to provide “unlimited liquidity,” perceptions significant damage was done by investors in South Korea’s financial markets. Political upheavals are calling into question the government’s efforts to raise the country’s status as an advanced market economy in global indexes. It is another blow to the country’s stock market after the Yun administration shocked the global investment community with a sudden ban on short selling about a year ago. Banks were among those hit hardest by Wednesday’s selloff, along with companies seen as linked to Yun’s policies, including nuclear power and corporate reform. Shares of Samsung Electronics Co., the country’s largest company, fell 3% before paring the slide.Advertisement: Korean assets are among the world’s worst performers amid China’s economic crisis and Donald Trump’s threats to impose heavy trade tariffs after his election victory in the USA. The won has fallen nearly 9% against the dollar this year, the worst performance among Asian currencies, while Korea’s Kospi index is down about 8%. We will remind: After the declaration of martial law in South Korea, the won rate (the country’s currency) fell to 1427.10 per dollar, reaching the lowest level in the last two years.
