|
|
|
Korean won sharply weakens to dollar on euro-zone debt fears
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean currency sharply fell against the U.S. dollar Friday as growing concerns about budget deficits in the eurozone sparked a flight to safer assets, dealers said.
The local currency was trading at 1,172.10 won to the greenback as of 10:23 a.m., down 21.20 won from the previous session. In early trading, the Korean unit declined to as low as 1,177.50 per the greenback.
Analysts said the won's sharp fall came as investor appetite for risky assets wilted due to heightened concerns over mounting fiscal deficit in Greece and other debt-ridden European countries.
Hit by the bad news, the Dow Jones industrial average fell below 10,000 for the first time in three months on Thursday.
Mirroring overnight falls in U.S. markets, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 3.26 percent to 1,563.7 as of 10:23 a.m. Foreign investors dumped a net 98.9 billion won (US$84.4 million) worth of Seoul stocks on the main bourse.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
|
| |
|
|
Home
