North Korea's missile launch was the talk of the region's markets last week and jittered equities but the uproar had limited effect on Asian credit-default swaps. "This blew over in about 15 minutes," said a senior trader at a European house without irony. He explained Korea sovereign protection moved out about two basis points mid-week after the news but tightened back in within an hour or so. Five-year protection was trading around a 28 basis point mid-market as DW went to press Thursday.
"This was written off--we've seen this story before," explained the trader. An official at UBS added there was more volatility a month ago in Korean names when the story first broke. "People that were scared pulled out then," he noted.
