South Korean infrastructure stocks crumbled on Wednesday as the political turmoil sparked by the president's short-lived declaration of martial law unnerved markets.
The benchmark Kospi fell as much as 2.3% in early trade, with infrastructure-related stocks leading the losses. Korea Gas tumbled 20%, Kepco Engineering & Construction and Nexteel each lost 15% and 14% respectively.
The drops leave Korea Gas on track for one of its worst one-day performances on record, while shares of Kepco are on track for their sharpest drop since April 2021.
Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's largest company and a heavyweight on the benchmark index, lost 3.0% in early trade before paring losses to last sit 1.1% lower.
The unexpected declaration of martial law in South Korea by President Yoon Suk Yeol late Tuesday sent the won and equities lower. Yoon lifted the declaration hours later after lawmakers voted against the measure early Wednesday.
"We think share price weakness is an opportunity to buy selectively" in South Korean equities, Tan said.
South Korea-related stocks overseas took a hit overnight as the events unfolded. ADRs of South Korean e-commerce company Coupang fell as much as 9.8% before closing 3.7% lower, while those of steel company Posco closed 4.4% lower. U.K.-listed shares of Samsung were 3.7% lower.
Exchange-traded funds tracking South Korean equities like the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF also fell overnight.
Lorraine Tan, regional director at Morningstar, doesn't expect the selloff in South Korean companies' American depositary receipts to continue...
"The chaos caused confusion in markets," Tan said...
IG markets strategist Yeap Jun Rong noted that U.S.-listed companies with exposure to South Korean suppliers didn't see much "panic selling."
A Proactive Policy Response
After meeting with the governor of the central bank and other top financial regulators, South Korea's finance minister said Wednesday that all possible measures will be taken to stabilize markets.
The Bank of Korea stated that financial markets have now somewhat stabilized and it will start buying extra repurchase agreements to expand short-term liquidity.