[SEOUL] South Korean shares tumbled more than 2 per cent on Monday to close at their lowest level since June 2016 amid a worsening diplomatic row with Japan. Escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, South Korea's largest export markets, added to the selling pressure.
Japan said on Friday it would remove South Korea from a list of countries that enjoy minimum export restrictions from Aug 28, pushing the Kospi down nearly 1 per cent. Japan tightened controls in July on exports to South Korea, escalating a row over wartime forced labourers and sparking a boycott by South Korean consumers of Japanese products and services, from cars, beer and pens to tours.
The yuan breached the seven per dollar level for the first time in 11 years. The won was quoted at 1,215.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform , 1.42 per cent lower than its previous close at 1,198.0, marking its sharpest daily percentage loss since August 2016. Amid greater appetite for safe-haven assets, the currency marked its lowest against the Japanese yen since July 2016.