AAPL Apple Inc

   By Kwanwoo Jun 
 

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. denied Monday any ongoing talks with Apple Inc. on developing autonomous cars, sending their shares sharply lower.

Hyundai Motor's stock tumbled 5.6% and Kia slumped 14% in morning trade, extending early losses on their denials of talks with Apple.

The terse regulatory filings, made early Monday separately by Hyundai and Kia, ended wild speculation about Apple's potential partnership with the South Korean car makers.

Shares of Hyundai and Kia had soared even when the Korean auto group last month sought to play down the likelihood of a final deal with Apple by reiterating they had been in "early stage" talks.

Apple has never confirmed those talks.

Before Monday's plunge, Hyundai had rallied 30% while Kia had surged more than 60% so far this year.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 07, 2021 21:53 ET (02:53 GMT)

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