S.Korean stocks jump on revived hopes for trade deal

Trinity Airways Co

25/11/2019 07:06

* KOSPI rises
    * Foreigners were net sellers for a 13th straight session
KRW gains against USD
    * South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2850N9

    SEOUL, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial
markets:
    ** South Korean shares ended 1% higher on Monday, recovering
some of last week's losses, as upbeat remarks from both United
States and China revived hopes that the countries would reach an
interim trade deal. The Korean won and the benchmark bond yield
rose.
    
    ** China and the U.S. are 'very close' to a phase one trade
deal, the Global Times, a tabloid run by the ruling Communist
Party's official People's Daily, said on Monday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2851GS
    
    ** U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said a trade accord
with China is "potentially very close," just hours after the
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing wants to work out an
interim or 'phase one' trade pact.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2821H4
    
    ** On Saturday, U.S. National Security Adviser Robert
O'Brien said that an initial agreement with China is still
possible by the end of the year, but warned Washington would not
turn a blind eye to what happens in Hong Kong.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2830Q1
    
    ** China has invited top U.S. trade negotiators for a new
round of face-to-face talks in Beijing, the Wall Street Journal
said, citing unnamed sources. It added that Beijing hoped the
talks could take place before next Thursday's U.S. Thanksgiving
holiday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nB9N27200S
    
    ** However, a potential standoff between the world's two
largest economies on the Hong Kong issue threatened to
complicate trade talks between the two countries.
    
    ** Seoul stock market's main KOSPI  .KS11  ended up 21.54
points, or 1.02%, to 2,123.50.
    
    ** Foreigners were net sellers for a 13th straight session,
having sold 259.4 billion won ($219.96 million) worth of shares
on the main board.
    
    ** KOSPI buoyed with the help of Trump's optimistic remark,
while the better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing surveys also
cheered the market, Seo Sang-young, analyst at Kiwoom Securities
said.
    
    ** Shares of Samsung Heavy Industries  010140.KS  closed
4.4% higher after the company said it was awarded a 1.8 trillion
won ($1.53 billion) worth order to a build liquefied natural gas
(LNG) carrier, which is expected to be delivered by September
2022.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS6N27R016

    ** South Korean budget airlines JejuAir  089590.KS  and
T'way Air  091810.KS  gained 6.9% and 3.2%, respectively, on
hopes of improving ties between Seoul and Tokyo after the two
countries agreed to have formal talks next month.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N28508Z  
 
    
    ** The won was quoted at 1,176.0 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.25% higher than its previous
close at 1,178.9.
    
    ** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,175.6
per U.S. dollar, up 0.3% from the previous day, while in
non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract
 KRW1MNDFOR=  was quoted at 1,174.8 per dollar.
    
    ** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside
Japan  .MIAPJ0000PUS  was up 0.68%, after U.S. stocks gained on
amicable remarks from both the U.S. and China  MKTS/GLOB .
Japanese stocks  .N225  rose 0.78%.
    
    ** The KOSPI has risen 4.04% so far this year, but gained
2.8% in the previous 30 trading sessions.
    
    ** The trading volume during the session in the KOSPI index
 .KS11  was 392.24 million shares and, of the total traded
issues of 907, the number of advancing shares was 684.
    
    ** The won has lost 5.1% against the dollar so far this
year.
    
    ** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  fell 0.07 points to 110.20, while the
3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.53% in late
afternoon trade.
    
    ** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by
1.9 basis points to 1.475% in late afternoon trade, while the
benchmark 10-year yield rose by 3.8 basis points to 1.722%.


($1 = 1,179.3300 won)

 (Reporting by Joori Roh, additional reporting by Hayoung Choi;
Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
 ((joori.roh@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 6936 1493;))