S.Korean stocks end higher, won flat; Sino-U.S. trade woes linger

Hanil Hyundai Cement Co

19/11/2018 07:11

* KOSPI index gains, foreigners sell
    * Korean won flat
    * South Korea bond yields down
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1XU06V

    SEOUL, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial
markets:
South Korea's KOSPI stock index  .KS11  ended firmer on Monday
as investors took a cautious stance amid conflicting signals on
the prospects for a truce in the Sino-U.S. trade dispute. The
Korean won was flat, while bond yields dropped.
    
** At 0630 GMT, the KOSPI closed up 8.16 points or 0.39 percent
at 2,100.56.
    
** Asia-Pacific leaders failed to agree on a communique at a
summit in Papua New Guinea on Sunday for the first time in their
history as deep divisions between the United States and China
over trade and investment stymied cooperation.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1XT00N
    
** "We will have to observe the situation until any official
statements are made on trade dispute from Trump-Xi meeting on
the sidelines of a G20 summit later this month," says Lee
Jae-sun, analyst, KTB Investment & Securities.
    
** South Korean shares with business exposure to North Korea
jump as Chinese President Xi Jinping says he intends to visit
North Korea next year; Hanil Hyundai Cement  006390.KS  closed
up 10.3 percent, while Hyundai Rotem  064350.KS  and Hyundai
Elevator  017800.KS  ended 5.4 percent and 5.8 percent higher,
respectively.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1XU1UI

** Shares of Korean Air Line's  003490.KS  parent Hanjin Kal
Corp  180640.KS  and Hanjin Transportation Co Ltd  002320.KS ,
Hanjin Group's shipping arm, tumbled as South Korean activist
fund KCGI denied speculation that it is acquiring a stake in
Hanjin Kal to take over the company's management; Hanjin Kal and
Hanjin Transportation closed down 6.7 percent and 4.5 percent,
respectively.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1XU2M1

** Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering  042660.KS  dropped
4.7 percent on its close after the company on Friday said its
deal with a European shipowner was amended to build one oil
container from three ships.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1XU2JK
    
** The won was quoted at 1,128.6 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.01 percent weaker than its
previous close at 1,128.5.
    
** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,128.15
per U.S. dollar, down 0.69 percent from the previous session,
while in one-year non-deliverable forwards  KRWNDFOR=  it was
being asked at 1,108.75 per dollar.
    
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was up 0.10 percent, after U.S. stocks ended the
previous session with mild gains  MKTS/GLOB . Japanese stocks
 .N225  rose 0.65 percent.
    
** The KOSPI slipped 15.2 percent so far this year, and fell
8.01 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 268,926,000 shares and, of the total traded issues
of 895, the number of advancing shares was 628 shares.
    
** Foreigners were net sellers of 92,623 million won worth of
shares.
    
** The U.S dollar rose 5.79 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 1,146.26 on Oct. 11, 2018.
    
** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  rose 0.04 points to 108.76.
    
** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was
quoted at 1.7 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean
treasury bond yielded 1.942 percent, lower than the previous
day's 1.95 percent.

 (Reporting by Joori Roh, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((joori.roh@thomsonreuters.com;))