Asian stocks fall on NKorea tensions, Kospi drops 1%

Asian shares are down this Monday morning as the investors are running for safe haven assets following North Korea’s latest nuclear test. 

South Korean markets are the biggest casualty of the latest bout of NKorea tensions. The benchmark Kospi index has opened lower by more than 1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.32%. Meanwhile, the strength in the Japanese Yen is hurting the Japanese stocks. The Nikkei index is down 0.62%. 

North Korea successfully tested a hydrogen bomb with intercontinental ballistic capabilities. President Trump referred to the North’s latest detonation as a “major nuclear test” - not as a test of a hydrogen bomb, as North Korea claimed. 

The risk assets are taking a beating; although the general view is that the dip could be short lived as seen time and again this year. However, South Korean officials are of the opinion that the latest bout of NKorea tensions could have a lasting impact on the markets and the economy.