South Korean stocks jump on China stimulus hopes

Hyundai Glovis

15/01/2019 07:11

* KOSPI index hits near 6-week closing high
    * Korean won gains vs USD, bond yields steady
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1ZF171

    SEOUL, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial
markets:
    
    ** South Korean shares jumped over 1.5 percent on Tuesday to
a near six-week closing high, tracking gains in Chinese markets 
on expectations of more government policy measures to prop up a
slowing economy. The won rose while bond yields were unchanged.
    
    ** China will aim to achieve "a good start" in the first
quarter for the economy, the state planner said on Tuesday,
signalling authorities could roll out more stimulus measures in
the near term to counter slowing growth.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1ZF1D6

    ** The odds look stacked against British Prime Minister
Theresa May winning parliamentary approval for her Brexit deal,
which has come under fire from all sides, including
eurosceptics, supporters of the EU and the Northern Irish party
propping up her minority Conservative government. Voting is
expected to start about 1900 GMT on Tuesday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1ZE74M
    
    ** The KOSPI stock index  .KS11  closed 32.66 points, or
1.58 percent, higher at 2,097.18. Heavyweights Samsung
Electronics  005930.KS  and SK Hynix  000660.KS  gained 2.6
percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.
    
    ** South Korea's biggest automaker, Hyundai Motor
 005380.KS , climbed nearly 5 percent, while affiliates Hyundai
Mobis  012330.KS  and Hyundai Glovis  086280.KS  rose 3.6
percent and 3.7 percent respectively. Seo Sang-young, an analyst
with Kiwoom Securities, said South Korea's auto stocks followed
their U.S. peers higher, boosted by the Detroit Motor Show.
    
    ** Shares of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd
 097230.KS  surged nearly 30 percent, a record intraday percent
gain, after a Philippine court approved rehabilitation
proceedings for the company's local unit, Subic Shipyard.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1ZF27C
    
    ** The won was quoted at 1,120.7 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.21 percent firmer than its
previous close at 1,123.
    
    ** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at
1,120.58 per U.S. dollar, up 0.02 percent from the previous day,
while in one-year non-deliverable forwards  KRWNDFOR=  it was
being asked at 1,103.85 per dollar.
    
    ** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside
Japan  .MIAPJ0000PUS  was up 1.29 percent, after U.S. stocks
ended the previous session with losses  MKTS/GLOB . Japanese
stocks  .N225  rose 0.96 percent.
    
    ** The KOSPI is up around 1.2 percent so far this year, and
down by 2.07 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 432,915,000 shares and, of the total traded issues
of 897, the number of advancing shares was 572.
    
    ** Foreigners were net buyers of 120,899 million won worth
of shares.
    
    ** The won's high for the year is 1,113.81 per dollar on
Jan. 11 and low is 1,130.05 on Jan. 3.
    
    ** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  rose 0.01 points to 109.32.
    
    ** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate
was quoted at 1.86 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean
treasury bond yielded 1.799 percent, barely changed from the
previous day's 1.80 percent.

 (Reporting by Joori Roh; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((joori.roh@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5642; Reuters
Messaging: joori.roh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))