S.Korean stocks close little changed; won edges lower

Hyundai Pharmaceutical

11/04/2019 07:56

* KOSPI index unchanged from previous session, foreigners
net
buyers
    * Korean won weakens slightly versus U.S. dollar
    * South Korea benchmark bond yield drops
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21T0GL

    SEOUL, April 11 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets:
South Korea's KOSPI stock index  .KS11  ended the dull trade
largely unchanged on Thursday in the absence of any
market-moving drivers. The Korean won edged lower, while the
benchmark bond yield dropped.
 
** The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI closed up 0.05 points at
2,224.44 points. 
    
** Shares of Kumho Asiana Group units surged after the
conglomerate pledged to sell its airline arm Asiana Airlines
 020560.KS , if it fails to implement restructuring plan. The
group's main creditor Korea Development Bank, however, said the
plan was not sufficient to restore market trust.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21T1B1
    
** Hyundai Pharmaceutical  004310.KS , which produces morning
after-pill, added 7.3 percent after the constitutional court
said ban on abortion is unconstitutional, as investors bet the
pill could become a non-prescription medicine.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21T1HC
 
** Foreigners were net buyers of 280.3 billion won worth of
shares on the main board. 
    
** The won was quoted at 1,139.4 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.07 percent lower than its
previous close at 1,138.6.
 
** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,139.0 per
U.S. dollar, down 0.2 percent from the previous session, while
in one-year non-deliverable forward trading its one-month
contract  KRW1MNDFOR=  was quoted at 1,138.0 per dollar.
    
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was down 0.39 percent, after U.S. stocks edged
higher  MKTS/GLOB . Japanese stocks  .N225  rose 0.11 percent.
    
** The KOSPI climbed 8.99 percent so far this year, and dipped
0.1 percent in the previous 30 trading sessions.
    
** 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 395.01 million shares and, of the total traded
issues of 897, the number of advancing shares was 557.
    
** The won lost 2.1 percent against the U.S dollar so far this
year.
    
** In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  dipped 0.01 points to 109.53, while the
3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.86 percent.
    
** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield slipped by
0.2 basis points to 1.729 percent, while the benchmark 10-year
yield fell by 0.5 basis points to 1.866 percent.

 (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))