À̹ÌÁö È®´ë The woes of the Turkish lira sent fright across the Asian capital markets, hurting the Korean won and equities as well.
The Korean currency stayed weaker against the U.S. dollar throughout Monday after the Turkish currency took a dive to a fresh record low after U.S. sanctions over its detention of an American pastor fanned investors¡¯ exodus from Eurasian market, worsening its woes of thinning foreign exchange reserves and widening current-account deficit.
The U.S. dollar closed at 1,133.90 won, up 0.44 percent against the previous close. The main Kospi finished 1.5 percent lower at 2,248.45 and the Kosdaq 3.7 percent down at 755.65.
À̹ÌÁö È®´ë Foreign exchange dealing room of of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul. [photo by Lee Chung-woo]
Market analysts expect the rout in Korean market to be temporary.
Debt exposure in lira markets by Korean lenders stops at $1.7 billion, which is within manageable range, unless the crisis builds up to bigger regional level, said IBK Securities Co. said in a report on Monday.
KTB Investment & Securities Co. also believed the Seoul market is relatively safe from the emerging market turmoil as its fundamentals remain comparatively strong.
By Chung Joo-won and Lee Eun-joo
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]