S.Korean stocks slump to near 23-month low, bond yields down

Samsung E&A Co

29/10/2018 07:25

* KOSPI index falls for 5th straight session
    * Foreign, local investors continue to sell
    * Korean won steady versus U.S. dollar
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1X91I4

    SEOUL, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial
markets: 
** South Korea's KOSPI stock index  .KS11  fell 1.5 percent on
Monday, extending its decline into a fifth session and hitting
its lowest in almost 23 months, on continued selling by foreign
and local investors. Bond yields fell after the central bank
chief's comments on monetary policy, while the won was steady
against the dollar. 
    
** The KOSPI closed down 31.10 points, or 1.53 percent, at
1,996.05.
   
** The main index may fall to 1,900 level within November, said
Noh Dong-kil, an economist with Shinhan Investment.
    
** The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it will quicken
the implementation of funds worth of 300 billion won ($262.93
million) with the goal of capital market stabilisation. The fund
will start investment in the junior KOSDAQ stock market  .KQ11 
from early November, said FSC Vice-Chairman Kim Yong-beom. 
    
** The measure, however, failed to boost investor sentiment. The
KOSDAQ stock index finished 5 percent lower, hitting the lowest
since August 2017. 
    
** Shares of Hyundai Wia Corp  011210.KS , an affiliate of
Hyundai Motor  011210.KS , fell 11.1 percent after the auto
parts maker said third-quarter operating profit slumped 36.2
percent from a year earlier.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1X92DE
    
** Samsung Engineering  028050.KS  jumped 6.2 percent after the
company posted a huge gain in its third-quarter operating
profit.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1X92J9 
    
** Bank of Korea chief Lee Ju-yeol said the rate decision should
consider downside pressures on the economy, noting that "rate
hike is not a done deal." After the remark, Seoul's three-year
treasury bond futures rose as much as 0.27 points.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS6N1X300H
    
** South Korean exports are likely to post double-digit growth
in October, mainly due to more working days, but the underlying
trend is weakening as Sino-U.S. trade war intensifies, a Reuters
poll found.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1X41PP 
        
** The won was quoted at 1,141.4 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.04 percent firmer than its
previous close at 1,141.9. 
 
** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,141.01
per U.S. dollar, down 0.15 percent from the previous day, while
in one-year non-deliverable forwards  KRWNDFOR=  it was being
transacted at 1,122.35 per dollar. 
 
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was down 0.02 percent, after U.S. stocks ended
the previous session with mild losses  MKTS/GLOB . Japanese
stocks  .N225  weakened 0.16 percent. 
 
** The KOSPI is down around 17.8 percent so far this year, and
down by 11.15 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 416,016,000 shares and, of the total traded issues
of 898, the number of advancing shares was 67.
 
** Foreigners were net sellers of 159,519 million won worth of
shares.
 
** The U.S dollar has risen 7 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 0.22 points to 108.88.
 
** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was
quoted at 1.7 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean
treasury bond yielded 1.905 percent, lower than the previous
day's 1.96 percent.

($1 = 1,141.0000 won)

 (Reporting by Hayoung Choi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com;))