S.Korean stocks gain for 13th consecutive session; foreigners buy

SK Networks Co

16/04/2019 08:04

* KOSPI index gains, foreigners net buyers
    * Korean won drops versus U.S. dollar
    * South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21Y0H2

    SEOUL, April 16 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets:
    
** South Korea's KOSPI stock index  .KS11  ended higher for the
13th consecutive session, trimming its losses in early trading,
as foreigners lapped up shares. The Korean won weakened, while
the benchmark bond yield rose.
 
** The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI ended up 5.75 points, or
0.26 percent, to 2,248.63 points. 
    
** Foreigners were net buyers of 154.3 billion won worth of
shares on the main board. 
        
** Though a 12-day winning streak weighed on the market, KOSPI
gained for 13th straight session as foreigners kept buying, said
Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, adding it's
time to check on key indexes to see they satisfy market
consensus.      
    
** China is set to release its first-quarter GDP data on
Wednesday, while analysts see the economy to have grown 6.3
percent from a year earlier slightly slower than previous
quarter.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21S1BI
    
** Shares of Asiana Airlines  020560.KS  extended rally by
closing up 16 percent on optimism over takeover deal. The
debt-laden carrier's creditors are working on a financial
support plan after its top shareholder said it will sell its
entire stake in Asiana.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21Y189
    
** Shares of SK Networks  001740.KS , a unit of SK Group and
owner of a hotel in Seoul, added 7.5 percent as investors see
the conglomerate's possible takeover of Asiana could improve the
unit's business.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21Y03L
      
** The won was quoted at 1,135.7 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.23 percent lower than its
previous close at 1,133.1.
 
** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,135.6 per
U.S. dollar, down 0.1 percent from the previous day, while in
one-year non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract
 KRW1MNDFOR=  was quoted at 1,134.4 per dollar.
    
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was up 0.33 percent, after U.S. stocks closed
down  MKTS/GLOB . Japanese stocks  .N225  rose 0.24 percent.
    
** The KOSPI has risen 10.17 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 on the KOSPI index
 .KS11  was 561.43 million shares and, of the total traded
issues of 895, the number of advancing shares was 345.
    
** The won has lost 1.8 percent against the U.S dollar this
year.
    
** In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  fell 0.01 points to 109.40, while the
3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.86 percent.
    
** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.4
basis points to 1.765 percent, while the benchmark 10-year yield
rose by 0.1 basis points to 1.928 percent.

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