South Korea's won trimmed some losses on Tuesday but stayed near two-year lows after President Yoon Suk Yeol lifted a martial law declaration he imposed just hours before, honoring a parliamentary vote against the measure.
The won was last down 0.9 per cent at 1,417 to the U.S. dollar, a level not seen in more than two years.
Earlier the currency fell about 2.8 per cent to touch 1,443.40 as Yoon declared martial law to thwart "anti-state forces" among his opponents. But outraged lawmakers rejected the decree, as protesters gathered outside parliament in the country's biggest political crisis in decades.
U.S.-listed South Korean stocks fell, while exchange-traded products in New York including iShares MSCI South Korea ETF and Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF lost about 1.0 per cent each.
"This is a very fluid situation and we don't know what is going to happen ultimately," said Malcolm Dorson, head of emerging markets strategy at Global X.
"Things seem to be going back towards relatively normal," he said after the declaration of martial law was reversed.
A South Korea central bank official said the institution was preparing ample measures to stabilize the market if needed.
South Korea's benchmark stock index KOSPI closed up 1.86 per cent at 2,500.10 on Tuesday before Yoon's initial announcement.
In Latin America, MSCI's index for Latin American currencies rose 0.5 per cent, while the stocks index was on track to snap a five-day losing streak. It gained 0.8 per cent on the day. Brazil's real was flat in choppy trading.
Investors parsed the country's GDP figures that showed the economy slowed in the third quarter but still maintained strong momentum, supported by rising investments and a robust labor market.
Treasury Secretary Rogerio Ceron said the country was set to achieve a primary deficit of $3.3 billion this year, narrower than the maximum shortfall permitted under its fiscal rules.
Expectations of fiscal instability in Brazil, the region's largest economy, have weighed on the real and local equities this year. On the day, the Bovespa stock index rose 0.7 per cent.
Mexico's peso edged up 0.2 per cent, aided by a rise in crude oil prices. Data showed gross fixed investment fell 0.8 per cent in September. The local benchmark equities index advanced 0.9 per cent to touch a three-week high.
Elektra reversed early losses and was last up 4.2 per cent a day after a trade suspension was lifted on the embattled financial services company's shares.
Trading had been suspended intermittently for several months after the company said it learned one of its creditors may have engaged in fraud. Colombia, another oil exporter, saw its peso currency firm 0.4 per cent, while the currencies of copper producers Chile and Peru edged up 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively tracking higher prices of the red metal.