S.Korea stocks bounce back; Fed in focus

Monami

30/07/2019 08:06

* KOSPI index rises, foreigners net buyers
    * Korean won strengthens versus U.S. dollar
    * South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24U58O

    SEOUL, July 30 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets: 
    
** South Korean shares climbed on Tuesday recouping some of the
previous day's sharp losses, but uncertainties remained high
amid a worsening diplomatic and economic spat with Japan, ahead
of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting. The Korean won
strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.
    
** The U.S. Fed will begin a two-day policy meeting later in the
day, at which it is widely expected to lower interest rates by
25 basis points. If implemented, it would be the central bank's
first rate cut in a decade.
    
** Japan is preparing for cabinet approval as early as Friday to
remove South Korea from the so-called white list status with
minimum trade restrictions, Japanese media reported last week.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24R0OO
    
** Uncertainty has persisted over the relationship with Japan,
said Cho Byung-hyun, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Korea,
noting that eyes will now be on developments from the Asean
Regional Forum (ARF). 
    
** Officials from Seoul and Tokyo will be in Bangkok this week
for the ARF. South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said
she is "highly likely" to meet with Japan's Taro Kono as well as
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during the ASEAN forum.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24V1FL
    
** Amid a deepening row between neighbours, South Korea's
underwear makers surged as South Korean boycott of Japanese
clothing brands intensified, making the textile sub-index
 .KS23  the biggest percentage gainer among KOSPI sub-indexes
with a 2.5% rise.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24V0RL
    
** Shares of Monami  005360.KS  jumped as much as 26.2% on
Tuesday, before it ended up 12.9%, as investors expected the
stationery maker's sales to grow as customers boycott Japanese
pens.
    
** Shares of Dual Industrial  078590.KQ  tumbled nearly 30%
after the auto parts maker dropped its bid to buy a stake in SG
BKGroup, owner of South Korea's leading virtual currency
exchange Bithumb.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24V0BJ
        
** The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI index  .KS11  ended up
9.20 points or 0.45% at 2,038.68. 
    
** The benchmark index shed nearly 2% on Monday as tensions with
Japan added pressure on the export-dependent economy. 
    
** Foreigners were net buyers of 140.9 billion won ($119.25
million) worth of shares on the main board. 
    
** The won was quoted at 1,181.6 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.16% higher than its previous
close at 1,183.5.
    
** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,181.6 per
U.S. dollar, up 0.1% from the previous day, while in
non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract
 KRW1MNDFOR=  was quoted at 1,180.4 per dollar.
    
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was up 0.20%, after U.S. stocks stepped back
from last week's record highs  MKTS/GLOB . Japanese stocks
 .N225  rose 0.43%.
    
** The KOSPI has fallen 0.12% so far this year, and lost 2.9% 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 538.76 million shares and, of the total traded
issues of 891, the number of advancing shares was 584.
    
** The won has lost 5.6% against the U.S dollar so far this
year.
    
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  rose 0.03 point to 110.85, while the
3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.52%.
    
** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.9
basis points to 1.296%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell
by 0.9 basis points to 1.399%.

 ($1 = 1,181.6000 won)

 (Reporting by Hayoung Choi; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
 ((hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5643; Reuters
Messaging: hayoung.choi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))