S.Korea stocks, won rise over U.S.-Mexico trade optimism

E-Mart

28/08/2018 03:03

* KOSPI index rises, foreigners buy
    * Korean won gains versus U.S. dollar
    * South Korea bond yields steady

    Aug 28 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial
markets:
** South Korea's KOSPI stock index  .KS11  advanced on Tuesday,
tracking Wall Street over U.S.-Mexico trade optimism. The Korean
won rose, while bond yields were steady.
    
** At 01:24 GMT, the KOSPI was up 10.30 points, or 0.45 percent,
at 2,309.60.
    
** Shares of E-Mart  139480.KS  and Shinsegae  004170.KS  rise 6
percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, following a report that
both companies were accelerating the joint launch of online
shopping mall focusing on food sales. Hong Kong-based Affinity
Equity Partners will invest about 1 trillion won for integrated
corporation, according to a report by the Maeil Business
Newspaper.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1VJ0AK

** The construction sub-index  .KS44  gained 2.5 percent after
the government said it would build more apartments in an effort
to cut down ballooning housing prices.

** The won was quoted at 1,110 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.34 percent firmer than its
previous close at 1,113.8. 

** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,110.54
per U.S. dollar, down 0.25 percent from the previous day, while
in one-year non-deliverable forwards  KRWNDFOR=  it was being
transacted at 1,094.35 per dollar.

** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was up 0.60 percent, after U.S. stocks ended the
previous session with mild gains  MKTS/GLOB . Japanese stocks
 .N225  rose 0.74 percent. 

** The KOSPI is down around 6.8 percent so far this year, and up
by 0.50 percent in the previous 30 days.

** The current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10, the dividend
yield is 1.28 percent and the market capitalisation is 1,242.04
trillion won. 

** The trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index
 .KS11  was 100,563,000 shares and, of the total traded issues
of 891, the number of advancing shares was 539.

** Foreigners were net buyers of 65,960 million won worth of
shares.

** The U.S dollar has risen 4.14 percent against the won this
year. The won's high for the year is 1,053.55 per dollar on
April 2, 2018 and low is 1,140.4 on July 19, 2018.

** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  fell 0.03 points to 108.7.

** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was
quoted at 1.65 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean
treasury bond yielded 1.967 percent, higher than the previous
day's 1.97 percent.

 (Reporting by Hayoung Choi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com;))