S.Korea stocks set to snap 12-day winning streak; won lower

SK Networks Co

16/04/2019 03:29

* KOSPI index drops, foreigners net buyers
    * Korean won weakens versus U.S. dollar
    * South Korea benchmark bond yield falls

    SEOUL, April 16 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets:
    
** South Korea's KOSPI stock index  .KS11  is set to snap its
12-session winning streak on Tuesday as local institutions
booked profits. The Korean won and benchmark bond yield fell.
    
** As of 0227 GMT, the Seoul stock market's main KOSPI fell 4.21
points or 0.19 percent to 2,238.67 points.
    
** Local institutions are net sellers over profit taking, while
investors are awaiting Chinese growth data set for release
tomorrow, says Lee Won, an analyst from Bookook Securities. 
    
** China's first-quarter economic growth is likely to have
cooled to the weakest pace in at least 27 years, a Reuters poll
has showed, but a flurry of measures to boost domestic demand
may have put a floor under slowing activity in March.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21S1BI
    
**  Shares of SK Networks  001740.KS , which operates Walkerhill
Hotel in Seoul along with rental car service, soar on
expectation that SK Group's possible takeover of Asiana Airlines
 020560.KS  could create a synergy effect. Shares of Asiana and
its affiliates soared amid potential takeover interest.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21Y03L
     
** Foreigners were net buyers of 49.8 billion won ($43.81
million) worth of shares on the main board, while institutions
were net sellers of 88.9 billion won worth of stocks. 
    
** The won quoted at 1,135.2 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.18 percent lower than its
previous close at 1,133.1.
 
** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  quoted at 1,136.1 per
U.S. dollar, down 0.2 percent from the previous day, while in
one-year non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract
 KRW1MNDFOR=  was quoted at 1,135.0 per dollar.
    
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was down 0.14 percent, after U.S. stocks closed
lower  MKTS/GLOB . Japanese stocks  .N225  rose 0.19 percent.
    
** The KOSPI has gained 9.60 percent so far this year, and rose
2.4 percent in the previous 30 trading sessions.
    
** 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 was 255.29 million
shares and, of the total traded issues of 893, the number of
advancing shares were 207.
    
** Meanwhile, the won has lost 1.7 percent against the U.S
dollar this year.
    
** In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  rose 0.04 points to 109.45, while the
3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.86 percent.
    
** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.2
basis points to 1.759 percent, while the benchmark 10-year yield
fell by 0.8 basis points to 1.919 percent.

($1 = 1,136.7000 won)

 (Reporting by Hayoung Choi; Editing by Uttaresh.V)
 ((hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5643; Reuters
Messaging: hayoung.choi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))