S.Korean stocks end lower on profit-taking; soft export data weighs

Hanjin Logistics

21/06/2019 08:01

* KOSPI index drops, foreigners net buyers
    * Korean won weakens versus U.S. dollar
    * South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N23S01L

    SEOUL, June 21 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets:
South Korea's KOSPI  .KS11  ended weaker on Friday as investors
locked in profits after a series of strong gains, while tepid
data weighed on the export-driven economy. The Korean won
weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
    
** The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI closed down 5.67 points
or 0.27% at 2,125.64 points. The KOSPI gained 1.44% for the
week.
    
** Some investors took profit after the index rose sharply for a
third consecutive session until Thursday, said Lee Young-gon, an
analyst at Hana Financial Investment. South Korea's weak export
data also added to the concerns over the economy, he added. 
        
** South Korea's exports for the first 20 days of this month
shrank 10% from a year ago, weighed by fragile overseas sales of
semiconductors - its key export item. During the period,
semiconductor exports stumbled 24.3% from a year earlier. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS6N22W063
    
** South Korean President Moon Jae-in sacked both of his top
economic policy aides on Friday as Asia's fourth-largest economy
cools sharply due to prolonged Sino-U.S. trade friction. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N23S0KS
    
** Shares of Korean Air Lines  003490.KS  and its parent Hanjin
Kal  180640.KS  closed down 2.6% and 15.1%, respectively, after
Delta Air Lines'  DAL.N  stake buy in the parent of its
joint-venture partner. Hanjin Transportation  002320.KS  also
fell 8.1%.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N23R0MO
 
** Foreigners were net buyers of 12.6 billion won ($10.84
million) worth of shares on the main board, while local
institutions were net sellers of 132 billion won worth of shares
on the main board. 
    
** The won was quoted at 1,164.0 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.16% lower than its previous
close at 1,162.1. On a weekely basis, the currency strengthened
1.83% versus dollar, posting its biggest weekly percentage gain
since mid-July 2017. 
     
** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,163.5 per
U.S. dollar, down 0.4% from the previous day, while in
non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract
 KRW1MNDFOR=  was quoted at 1,162.1 per dollar.
    
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  slipped 0.30%, after U.S. stocks closed up.
Japanese stocks  .N225  fell 0.95%.  MKTS/GLOB 
    
** The KOSPI rose 4.14% so far this year, but lost 1.7% in the
previous 30 trading sessions.
    
** The current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10, the dividend
yield is 1.28% and the market capitalisation is 1,242.04
trillion won.
    
** The trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index
 .KS11  was 679.92 million shares and, of the total traded
issues of 893, the number of advancing shares was 287.
    
** The won lost 4.1% against the U.S dollar so far this year.
    
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  fell 0.05 points to 110.58, while the
3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.80%.
    
** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 1.5
basis points to 1.435%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose
by 2.4 basis points to 1.567%.

($1 = 1,162.5200 won)

 (Reporting by Hayoung Choi, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5643; Reuters
Messaging: hayoung.choi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))