S.Korea stocks shaky on profit-taking, won steady

SAMSUNG SDS

03/06/2016 03:36

* KOSPI set to post second weekly gain 
    * Market stays cautious; coming data and Yellen's speech 
awaited 
 
    SEOUL, June 3 (Reuters) - South Korean shares wobbled 
between positive and negative territory on Friday as investors 
took profits from the market's recent gains ahead of key U.S. 
jobs data later in the day. 
    The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI)  .KS11  was 
down 0.2 percent at 1,981.89 points as of 0219 GMT. 
    But trading volume was low as investors waited to see if the 
U.S. nonfarm payrolls report would give more clues on whether 
the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates at its policy 
meeting on June 14-15. 
     In recent weeks, Fed officials have put a possible rate 
rise in June or July firmly on the table if economic data 
continues to improve, though many traders believe it will wait 
until after Britain's vote on June 23 on whether to remain 
within the European Union. 
    South Korean exports to the U.S. rose in May, albeit 
marginally, after two months of decline, so investors are 
nervous about whether the American economy is strong enough to 
cope with higher borrowing costs. 
    Foreign investors were poised to be sellers, offloading a 
net 44.4 billion Korean won ($37.43 million) worth of KOSPI 
shares near mid-session.  
    IT company Samsung SDS Co Ltd  018260.KS  shares fell 7.2 
percent after it said it was considering spinning off its 
logistics process outsourcing and IT systems services business. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS6N17D01Z 
    Screenmaker LG Display Co Ltd  034220.KS  lost 3.8 percent. 
    Decliners outnumbered advancers 505 to 292.  
    Local equities looked set for a second week of gain. 
    The South Korean won  KRW=  stood at 1,186.5 to the dollar 
nearly unchanged compared to Thursday's close of 1,186.6. 
    The won  KRW=KFTC  was expected to decline on a weekly 
basis.   
    June futures on three-year treasury bonds  KTBc1  gained 
0.02 point to 110.38.  
     
                       0219 GMT    Prev close 
 Dollar/won             1,186.5       1,186.6 
 Yen/won             10.8964/31       10.8910 
 *KTB futures            110.38        110.36 
 KOSPI                 1,981.89      1,985.11 
 * Front-month futures on three-year treasury bonds 
 
 (Reporting by Dahee Kim; Editing by Kim Coghill) 
 ((Dahee.Kim@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5643; Reuters 
Messaging: dahee.kim@thomsonreuters.com)) 
 
Keywords: SOUTHKOREA MARKETS/MIDDAY