S.Korea won, N.Korea-exposed stocks slide on reports Kim Jong Un may be ill

Ananti

21/04/2020 08:52

* KOSPI falls 1%, foreigners net sellers
    * S.Korea won trims losses as S.Korea refute, saying Kim is
not
gravely ill
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2C918F

    By Cynthia Kim and Jihoon Lee
    SEOUL, April 21 (Reuters) - The South Korean won and shares
of companies exposed to North Korea slid on Tuesday, as media
reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be ill fueled
uncertainties related to the leadership in the reclusive nation.
    The Korean won  KRW=  closed down 0.75% at 1,229.7, having
plunged to a more than two-week low midday after CNN reported
Kim was gravely ill following a surgery, even as South Korea and
China cast doubts on the report.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2C90TM 
    Shares of South Korean companies with heavy exposure to
North Korea sank - Hyundai Elevator  017800.KS  and Ananti
 025980.KQ  fell 4.7% and 3.6%, respectively, bigger than the 1%
drop in the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI)  .KS11 .
    The currency and shares trimmed earlier losses as onshore
markets closed at 0630 GMT, after two South Korean government
sources rejected the CNN report without elaborating on the
surgery. The presidential Blue House said there were no unusual
signs coming from the reclusive state. 
    "Market temporarily reacted to spiking uncertainties
regarding North Korea, but it's unlikely to last long. When
Kim's late father died, stocks dropped more than 3% only to
recover the next day," said Na Jeong-hwan, an analyst at DS
Investment and Securities. 
    Na said investors gave little attention to the 27% drop in
exports for the first 20 days of April, as markets have been
expecting the shipment data to worsen with the coronavirus
pandemic paralyzing global manufacturing activity.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2C902Q
    Meanwhile, defense companies surged, with Victek Co.
 065450.KQ  soaring 27% and Hanwha Aerospace closing up 5.3%.
    The junior KOSDAQ index  .KQ11  declined 1.42% to 628.77
points. 
    Offshore investors dumped stocks, offloading a net 492.5
billion Korean won of KOSPI shares.
    Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co  005930.KS 
declined 1.7% while chipmaker SK Hynix Inc fell 0.85% 
    Decliners outnumbered advancers 742 to 127.
    The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by
2.4 basis points to 1.036% in late afternoon trade, while the
benchmark 10-year yield rose by 1.2 basis points to 1.459%.

 (Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Jihoon Lee; Editing by Krishna
Chandra Eluri)
 ((Cynthia.Kim@thomsonreuters.com; 822 3704 5655; Reuters
Messaging: cynthia.kim.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))