S.Korean stocks rise in line with Chinese markets, won skids

Shinsegae

23/08/2018 08:19

* KOSPI index climbs, foreigners buy
    * Korean won falls versus U.S. dollar
    * South Korea bond yields up slightly
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1VC1CB

    Aug 23 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial
markets:
** South Korea's KOSPI stock index  .KS11  advanced on Thursday,
tracking Chinese markets, even though fresh U.S.-China tariffs
weighed on the market. The Korean won fell in line with the
Chinese yuan, while bond yields rose slightly.
     
** At 06:30 GMT, the KOSPI was up 9.00 points, or 0.40 percent,
at 2,282.33, as foreigners bought South Korean shares.
** Internet giant Naver  035420.KS  closed 3.4 percent higher
after the company said it would increase its stake to 100
percent in its France-based affiliated company, in a bid to
boost its presence in the European markets.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1VE2LI
** Stocks with China exposure jumped after a local media outlet
reported China allowed some Chinese tour agencies based in
Shanghai to sell South Korea tour packages. Companies engaged in
duty-free business Shinsegae  004170.KS  and Hotel Shilla
 008770.KS  soared 9.15 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively.
Cosmetic companies also ended higher.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1US2VV
 
** The won was quoted at 1,121.4 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.22 percent weaker than its
previous close at 1,118.9. 
 
** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,121.29
per U.S. dollar, down 0.41 percent from the previous day, while
in one-year non-deliverable forwards  KRWNDFOR=  it was being
transacted at 1,103.5 per dollar. 
 
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was down 0.16 percent, after U.S. stocks ended
the previous session with mild losses  MKTS/GLOB . Japanese
stocks  .N225  rose 0.22 percent. 
 
** The KOSPI is down around 7.9 percent so far this year, and
down by 0.91 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 331,969,000 shares and, of the total traded issues
of 895, the number of advancing shares was 386.
 
** Foreigners were net buyers of 92,752 million won worth of
shares.
 
** The U.S dollar has risen 5.15 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 1,140.4 on July 19, 2018.
 
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  fell 0.01 points to 108.66.
 
** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was
quoted at 1.65 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean
treasury bond yielded 1.974 percent, higher than the previous
day's 1.96 percent.

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