Agencies
Asian equities tumbled on Wednesday as traders grappled with the surprise political storm in South Korea, where martial law was imposed and lifted only hours later. At the same time, a no-confidence vote in France put the euro in the spotlight.
South Korea’s won, buoyed by suspected intervention, was stable but remained close to the two-year low against the dollar that it hit late on Tuesday. The benchmark KOSPI index was down 1.3%, taking its year-to-date losses to more than 7% and making it the worst-performing major stock market in Asia this year.
That left the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, which counts Samsung Electronics as one of its top constituents, mainly flat as most Asian markets aside from South Korea rose.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday he would lift a surprise martial law declaration he had imposed just hours before, backing down in a standoff with parliament which roundly rejected his attempt to ban political activity.
“Martial law itself has been lifted but this incident creates more uncertainty in the political landscape and the economy,” ING senior economist Min Joo Kang said.“We are concerned that these events could impact South Korea’s sovereign credit rating, although this is uncertain at this stage.
