S.Korean stocks end lower as Draghi remarks dim rate-cut hopes

LG H&H

26/07/2019 08:08

* KOSPI index slips, foreigners net buyers
    * KOSPI falls 1.3% for week 
    * Korean won weakens versus U.S. dollar
    * South Korea benchmark bond yield down 
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24R03R

    SEOUL, July 26 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets: 
    
** South Korean shares slipped on Friday after European Central
Bank chief Mario Draghi's remarks deflated expectations of a
more dovish stance by major central banks. The Korean won and
the benchmark bond yield also fell.
    
** The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI index  .KS11  ended down
8.22 points or 0.40% at 2,066.26 points. For the week, the
benchmark index lost 1.34%.
    
** The ECB signalled its intention to explore monetary easing
but left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, and Draghi
sounded more upbeat on the economy than investors expected.
    
** He said the risk of a recession in the euro zone was "pretty
low", policymakers did not discuss interest rate cuts at
Thursday's meeting and they would wait for more data before
"taking action."  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24Q25T
    
** Reactions towards Draghi's remarks were mixed, said Cho
Byung-hyun, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Korea. Following his
comments, markets viewed that rate cuts by major central banks
could fall short of expectations, he added. 
    
** Shares of LG Household & Healthcare  051900.KS  plunged 6.4%
as its cosmetic business slowed after posting rapid growth for
years. This sent the chemicals sub-index  .KS29  down 0.6%.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24R1G5
        
** South Korea's July consumer sentiment fell to an eight-month
low at 95.9, slowing from 97.5 in a month ago, the Bank of Korea
said.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS6N23K01Z
    
** Meanwhile, North Korea's economy shrank in 2018 for a second
straight year, and by the most in 21 years, as it was battered
by international sanctions aimed at stopping its nuclear
programme and by drought, South Korea's central bank said.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24R12W
        
** Foreigners were net buyers of 58.3 billion won ($49.22
million) worth of shares on the main board. 
    
** The won was quoted at 1,184.8 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.28% lower than its previous
close at 1,181.5. The currency dropped 0.9% from a week ago. 
     
** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,184.6 per
U.S. dollar, down 0.1% from the previous day, while in
non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract
 KRW1MNDFOR=  was quoted at 1,183.5 per dollar.
    
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was down 0.51%, after U.S. stocks closed down
 MKTS/GLOB . Japanese stocks  .N225  fell 0.45%.
    
** The KOSPI has risen 1.24% so far this year, but lost 1.4% 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 583.33 million shares and, of the total traded
issues of 892, the number of advancing shares was 179.
    
** The won has lost 5.8% against the U.S dollar so far this
year.
    
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  fell 0.04 points to 110.83, while the
3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.54%.
    
** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.2
basis points to 1.304%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell
by 1.0 basis points to 1.423%.

($1 = 1,184.5000 won)    

 (Reporting by Hayoung Choi; editing by Uttaresh.V)
 ((hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5643; Reuters
Messaging: hayoung.choi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))