S.Korea stocks edge higher amid persisting risks, won inches lower

Samsung Publishing

17/01/2019 02:10

* KOSPI index steady, foreigners buy
    * Korean won falls versus U.S. dollar
    * South Korea bond yields steady

    SEOUL, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial
markets:
** South Korea's KOSPI stock index  .KS11  was steady in early
trading on Thursday without no fresh risks, while Brexit
uncertainties and Sino-U.S. trade spat still dampening the
market. The Korean won fell modestly, while bond yields were
unchanged.
 
** At 02:05 GMT, the KOSPI was up 0.86 points, or 0.04 percent
at 2,106.96.
    
** Shares of South Korean publisher Samsung Publishing
 068290.KS  surge after local media reported its affiliate
SmartStudy, which created the viral song "Baby Shark," is
preparing for IPO.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1ZH15U
 
** The won was quoted at 1,120.7 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.05 percent weaker than its
previous close at 1,120.1. 
 
** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,120.9 per
U.S. dollar, down 0.1 percent from the previous day, while in
one-year non-deliverable forwards  KRWNDFOR=  it was being
transacted at 1,102.7 per dollar. 
 
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was down 0.19 percent, after U.S. stocks ended
the previous session with mild gains  MKTS/GLOB . Japanese
stocks  .N225  weakened 0.32 percent. 
 
** The KOSPI is up around 3.2 percent so far this year, and up
by 0.44 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 206,010,000 shares and, of the total traded issues
of 894, the number of advancing shares was 320.
 
** Foreigners were net buyers of 138,694 million won worth of
shares.
 
** The U.S dollar has risen 0.68 percent against the won this
year. The won's high for the year is 1,113.81 per dollar on
January 11 2019 and low is 1,130.05 on Jan. 3, 2019.
 
** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  fell 0.03 points to 109.26.
 
** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was
quoted at 1.86 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean
treasury bond yielded 1.805 percent, barely changed from the
previous day's 1.81 percent.

 (Reporting by Hayoung Choi; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
 ((hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5643; Reuters
Messaging: hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com))