S.Korean won, shares exposed to N.Korea fall on reports Kim Jong Un is ill

Ananti

21/04/2020 05:10

SEOUL, April 21 (Reuters) - South Korean shares exposed to
North Korea tumbled on multiple media reports that North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un may be ill, even as the South Korean
government said he was not. 
    Shares of Hyundai Elevator  017800.KS  are trading nearly 5%
lower while Ananti  025980.KQ  dropped 3%, underperforming the
2% drop at nation's benchmark index KOSPI as of 0341 GMT.
    They are heavily exposed to events related to North Korea as
they had invested in the isolated nation's tourist spots.
    Shares of defense companies Victek Co.  065450.KQ  and
Hanwha Aerospace  012450.KS  are surging 25% and 9%,
respectively.
    The Korean won  KRW=  fell immediately after CNN reported
that Kim Jong Un was in grave danger after a surgery, and traded
down more than 1% against the dollar even as two South Korean
government sources later confirmed that Kim was not gravely ill.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2C90TM
    The won is down 1.15% against the dollar at 1,861.78 per
dollar as of 0345 GMT.

 (Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
 ((Cynthia.Kim@thomsonreuters.com; 822 3704 5655; Reuters
Messaging: cynthia.kim.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))