S.Korean stocks, won rise ahead of Fed decision; shrug off global uncertainties

Iljin Diamond

19/12/2018 07:12

* KOSPI index gains, foreigners sell
    * Korean won rises against USD
    * South Korea bond yields at 1-1/4-yr low
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1YO1LM

    SEOUL, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial
markets:
    
    ** South Korea's KOSPI stock index  .KS11  and the won
gained on Wednesday as investors await the U.S. Federal
Reserve's decision on interest rates, while the market shrugged 
off global uncertainties. South Korean bond yields fell across
the board to the lowest in more than a year.
    
    ** The Fed is expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday,
but may cut the number of hikes it anticipates next year and
signal an earlier end to its monetary tightening in the face of
financial market volatility and rising recession fears.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1YI2G7
    
    ** A rate hike on Wednesday could draw the ire of the White
House. President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the Fed
for raising rates this year, saying it was undercutting his
efforts to boost the economy. On Tuesday, Trump warned Fed
policymakers not to "make yet another mistake."
    
    ** The United States and China are planning to hold meetings
in January to "document an agreement" on trade, U.S. Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Bloomberg in an interview on
Tuesday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1YN1I9
    
    ** Italy has done a deal with the European Commission over
its contested 2019 budget, a spokeswoman at the Economy Ministry
said on Tuesday, signalling an end to weeks of wrangling that
had shaken financial markets.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1YN5H8
    
    ** At 06:32 GMT, the KOSPI closed up 16.73 points or 0.81
percent at 2,078.84, towed by gains in Hyundai Motor Co Ltd
 005380.KS  and LG Chem Ltd  051910.KS .
    
    ** Shares of Hyundai Motor soared as much as 4.7 percent to
highest since Oct. 8, while its affiliate Hyundai Mobis
 012330.KS  rose 3.5 percent on higher expectations for next
year. Hyundai Motor's striking new model, Palisade, has improved
the brand image of being well-balanced, said Kwon Soon-woo, an
analyst at SK Securities.
    
    ** South Korea's top chemical firms LG Chem and Lotte
Chemical Corp  011170.KS  each jumped more than 4 percent, while
the country's largest airline Korean Air Lines Co Ltd
 003490.KS  gained as much as 3.8 percent to its highest level
since May 15.
    
    ** Shares of hydrogen-powered car parts companies gained
after South Korean government announced a plan to expand the use
of hydrogen fuel-cell cars and raise subsidies for the vehicles.
Iljin Diamond Co Ltd  081000.KS  and GMB Korea Corp  013870.KS 
surged 13.4 percent and 29.9 percent, respectively.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1YO1J7
    
    ** The won was quoted at 1,123.5 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.54 percent firmer than its
previous close at 1,129.6.
    
    ** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at
1,122.39 per U.S. dollar, up 0.37 percent from the previous day,
while in one-year non-deliverable forwards  KRWNDFOR=  it was
being asked at 1,104.45 per dollar.
    
    ** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside
Japan  .MIAPJ0000PUS  was up 0.54 percent, after U.S. stocks
ended the previous session with gains  MKTS/GLOB . Japanese
stocks  .N225  weakened 0.6 percent.
    
    ** The KOSPI is down around 16.4 percent so far this year,
and down by 1.32 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 412,554,000 shares and, of the total 894 traded
issues, the number of advancing shares was 531.
    
    ** Foreigners were net buyers of 19,973 million won worth of
shares.
    
    ** The U.S dollar has risen 5.25 percent against the won
this year. The won's high for the year is 1,053.55 per dollar on
April 2 and the low is 1,146.26 on Oct. 11.
    
    ** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  rose 0.06 points to 109.38.
    
    ** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate
was quoted at 1.9 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean
treasury bond yielded 1.786 percent, lower than the previous
day's 1.80 percent.

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