BENGALURU: The South Korean won and stocks rose sharply on Wednesday, making them standout performers in mixed trading elsewhere in Asia as investors cheered Seoul’s progress in trade negotiations with the United States ahead of the August 1 tariff deadline.
The won strengthened 0.7% to 1,378.4 per dollar, while Seoul shares advanced more than 1% to a near four-year high. Samsung Electronics led the gains after signing a $16.5 billion chip-supply deal with Tesla earlier this week.
Korean assets gained momentum as three cabinet-level officials met US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington, with Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol preparing to meet Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday.
Seoul announced plans for a comprehensive trade package over the weekend.
The urgency comes amid a broader regional race after Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan secured agreements with Washington, intensifying pressure on remaining economies. Thailand expects to conclude talks before the deadline to avoid tariffs as high as 36%.
Elsewhere, the Indian rupee was the region’s biggest underperformer after US President Donald Trump said India may face 20%-25% tariffs. It slipped 0.6% to a four-month low and the central bank likely intervened to arrest the decline, traders told Reuters.
Other regional currencies traded flat or lower, with Singapore’s dollar, Malaysia’s ringgit and Thailand’s baht showing little movement.
Regional stock markets were mixed, with Taipei rising more than 1% and Bangkok up 0.3%, while Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur fell 0.6% and 0.2%.
The dollar strengthened as markets grew wary about their earlier optimism towards the recently announced US-EU trade framework. Investors viewed the lopsided agreement as symbolic rather than structural, reinforcing the greenback’s appeal.
“Heading into the second half of the year, besides a payback from export frontloading in the first half, the impact of the high tariff rate on the bloc’s (India and ASEAN) exports to the US is also likely to be felt,” DBS analysts said in a note.
US and Chinese officials agreed on Tuesday to seek an extension of their 90-day tariff truce following talks in Stockholm, though Trump will decide whether to extend the August 12 deadline.
Singapore’s central bank kept monetary settings unchanged, dashing easing hopes.
“Policymakers opted for a cautious approach to bide time until more clarity emerges on global trade,” said Shivaan Tandon, markets economist at Capital Economics.
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