South Korea martial law, Australia GDP

South Korean markets opened lower Wednesday, after a day of political upheaval in South Korea that saw President Yoon Suk Yeol impose and then lift a martial law decree within hours.

The country’s Kospi index was down 1.8% while the Kosdaq fell 2.3%, in choppy trading amid news of the possible deployment of funds by the country to shore up its markets.

Following an emergency board meeting, the Bank of Korea said it would boost short-term liquidity and deploy measures to stabilize the FX market as required. It will also make available any special loans needed to inject funds into the market, it added.

Earlier, Yonhap News Agency had reported that country’s top financial regulator was ready to deploy 10 trillion won ($7.07 billion) in a stock market stabilization fund at any time to calm market sentiment.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s foreign exchange authorities are suspected of selling U.S. dollars on the onshore market early Wednesday in efforts to limit declines in the Korean won, two dealers told Reuters.

As per local reports, the country’s opposition Democratic Party has said it would begin impeachment proceedings to remove Yoon if he doesn’t step down immediately. Yoon’s chief of staff and senior secretaries have reportedly offered to resign en masse.

Other Asia-Pacific markets were trading lower as investors digested events in South Korea.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.4%, while the Topix dropped 0.6%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading 0.2% higher. Mainland China’s CSI 300 dropped 0.3%.

Investors also assessed GDP data out of Australia, which showed economic growth come in slower than expected in the third quarter, as elevated borrowing costs and sticky inflation continued to weigh on the country.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was trading 0.5% lower.

In the U.S. overnight, South Korean stocks swung wildly amid the political upheaval that rocked the world’s 13th-largest economy.

The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY), which tracks more than 90 large and mid-sized companies in South Korea, tumbled as much as 7% to hit a 52-week low.

Later in the day, the ETF cut losses and closed Tuesday down 1.6% after Yoon said he would lift the emergency declaration following the National Assembly’s vote to overturn his martial law decree.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 inched up by 0.05%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%. Both indexes closed at records. The 30-stock Dow was the laggard, with a decline of nearly 0.2%.

— CNBC’s Yun Li and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.