Missile Spat Cools Korean Consumer Stock Stars on China Threats
- Korea received most foreign tourists from China last year
- China has used trade sanctions in similar disputes in the past
Shoppers and pedestrians walk past stores in the Myeongdong shopping district in Seoul.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/BloombergSouth Korean consumer shares, 2015’s stock-market darlings as tourists from China flocked to Seoul department stores, are now among the nation’s worst performers this year as a missile spat cools relations between the neighbors.
A measure of such companies on the MSCI Korea Index has tumbled 5.9 percent in 2016 through Wednesday after its best annual gain in a decade sent valuations to a four-year high relative to the broader gauge. Orion Corp., a confectioner that earns more than half its revenue in China, and cosmetics maker Amorepacific Corp. are among the biggest decliners as the U.S. and South Korea consider installing the Thaad missile-defense system on the peninsula.