Why South Korea's Markets Are Still Rattled By Syria
- Cost to hedge against won weakness rises to nine-month high
- Secretary Tillerson says not seeking ‘regime change’ in North
The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) launches Raytheon's Tomahawk cruise missile during strike operations while in the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, April 7, 2017.
Photographer: Seaman Ford WilliamsAs most of the trading world moves on from Donald Trump’s missile attack on Syria, there’s one pocket of the market where anxiety is lingering: South Korea.
The country’s Kospi index was the biggest decliner in Asia Monday, falling the most in more than five weeks as the won led losses among major and emerging-market currencies. While the U.S. strike on Syria’s Shayrat Airfield took place some 4,700 miles from Seoul, traders have been quick to make the connection -- selling off South Korean assets on speculation Trump could make a similarly aggressive pivot when it comes to the recalcitrant North.