Hyundai Stock Dips As Company Shuts Down Factory After Worker Tests Positive For Coronavirus

Hyundai Motor Company's HYMTF shares dipped on Friday's trade in Seoul as the company's production is hit by the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

What Happened

The South Korean automaker has shut down a factory in the city of Ulsan after a worker tested positive for the coronavirus, Reuters reported Friday.

Hyundai has five factories in Ulsan, which account for about 30% of the company's entire production worldwide, according to Reuters.

The company is disinfecting the affected factory, and the colleagues of the infected worker have been asked to self-quarantine themselves for the recommended period of 14 days, per Reuters.

Why It Matters

Less than an hour's drive away from Ulsan, the city of Daegu has been at the center of the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea.

More than 2,000 cases have been confirmed in South Korea, the largest of any country other than China, where the virus is said to have originated.

Thirteen people in the country have died from the virus, according to the data from Johns Hopkins University, and another 22 have recovered.

Hyundai is far from being the only company to take the impact of the coronavirus. A majority of South Korean companies, including electronics maker Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. SSNLF, are suffering both from the impact on their supply chain from China and the latest outbreak in their home country.

Major United States companies, including Apple Inc. AAPL, Tesla Inc. TSLA, and Microsoft Corporation MSFT, too expect lower earnings in the financial quarters affected by the coronavirus outbreak worldwide.

Price Action

Hyundai's shares closed traded nearly 5% lower at $94.64 at press time in Seoul on Friday. The automaker's stock closed 3.33% lower at $29 per share in the otc market on Thursday.