S.Korean stocks, won fall on concerns over global growth, trade

Netmarble

10/12/2018 07:05

* KOSPI index falls, foreigners sell
    * Korean won lower against dollar
    * South Korean bond yields down
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1YF1G2

    SEOUL, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial
markets:
    ** South Korea's KOSPI stock index  .KS11  and the won fell
on Monday, weighed down by global growth concerns as well as
fears over trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. South
Korean bond yields also dropped.
    
    ** U.S. jobs growth slowed in November and monthly wages
rose less than forecast, suggesting some moderation in economic
activity that could support expectations of fewer interest rate
increases from the Federal Reserve in 2019.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nUSN7NEEOA
    
    ** The Japanese economy contracted the most in over four
years in the third quarter as companies slashed spending,
threatening to chill the investment outlook in 2019 as the
export-reliant nation grapples with slowing global growth and
trade frictions.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1YA3PV
    
    ** Worries over the U.S.-China trade dispute were reignited
by news last week that Canadian officials had arrested the chief
financial officer of Chinese smartphone maker Huawei for
extradition to the United States. The arrest could throw up
another hurdle to the resolution of a trade war between the
world's top two economies.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1YA1YR
    
    ** Hackers behind a massive breach at hotel group Marriott
International Inc  MAR.O  left clues suggesting they were
working for a Chinese government intelligence gathering
operation, according to sources familiar with the matter. FBI
spokesperson said on Friday that the agency was looking into the
attack, but declined to elaborate.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1YB1FY
    
    ** At 06:32 GMT, the KOSPI closed down 21.99 points or 1.06
percent at 2,053.77. Shares of Samsung Electronics  005930.KS 
fell 1.8 percent, hitting its lowest close since March 2017.
    
    ** Shares of South Korean mobile games makers dropped after
a report that Chinese regulators have set up a new online games
ethics committee and reviewed 20 titles already. Investor
sentiment over games industries will likely be dented as the
launch of the committee indicates that the Chinese government is
aiming to tighten regulations on the industry, said Kim
Hak-joon, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. Shares of Webzen Inc
 069080.KQ  and WeMade Entertainment Co Ltd  112040.KQ  closed
down 12.8 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively, while Netmarble
Corp  251270.KS  ended down 6.2 percent.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1YF1WT
    
    ** The won was quoted at 1,126.5 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.59 percent weaker than its
previous close at 1,119.8.
    
    ** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at
1,126.75 per U.S. dollar, down 0.26 percent from the previous
day, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards  KRWNDFOR=  it
was being asked at 1,107.15 per dollar.
    
    ** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside
Japan  .MIAPJ0000PUS  was down 1.52 percent, after U.S. stocks
ended the previous session with mild losses  MKTS/GLOB .
Japanese stocks  .N225  weakened 2.12 percent.
    
    ** The KOSPI is down around 15.9 percent so far this year,
and down by 2.40 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 335,913,000 shares and, of the total traded issues
of 895, the number of advancing shares was 173.
    
    ** Foreigners were net sellers of 270,876 million won worth
of shares.
    
    ** The U.S. dollar has risen 5.66 percent against the won
this year. The won's high for the year is 1,053.55 per dollar on
April 2, 2018 and low is 1,146.26 on Oct. 11, 2018.
    
    ** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  rose 0.02 points to 109.2.
    
    ** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate
was quoted at 1.9 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean
treasury bond yielded 1.807 percent, lower than the previous
day's 1.81 percent.

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