SINGAPORE: Asian equities stumbled on Wednesday as traders contended with the political storm in South Korea, where martial law was imposed and subsequently lifted hours later, while a no-confidence vote in France put the euro in the spotlight.
South Korea's won, buoyed by suspected intervention, was stable but remained close to the two-year low against the dollar that it hit late on Tuesday. The benchmark KOSPI index was down 1.3%, taking its year-to-date losses to more than 7% and making it the worst performing major stock market in Asia this year.
