S.Korean stocks fall as investors shrug off rate cut

YG Entertainment

18/07/2019 08:04

* Bank of Korea cuts base rate by 25 bps to 1.50%
    * KOSPI index declines, foreigners net buyers
    * Korean won strengthens versus U.S. dollar
    * South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24J0FD

    SEOUL, July 18 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets: 

** South Korean shares ended lower on Thursday, as the central
bank's surprise rate cut underscored growth worries amid a
prolonged trade conflict between the United States and China,
and Japan's export curbs.    
** The won turned higher with forex dealers suspecting smoothing
operations by authorities to curb the currency's weakness, while
the benchmark bond yield fell.    
** South Korea's central bank delivered a surprise interest rate
cut, and shaved this year's growth forecast to the lowest in a
decade, as a brewing dispute with Japan piled more pressure on
the trade-dependent economy. The bank cut the base rate
 KROCRT=ECI  by 25 basis points to 1.50%.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24I0DU    
** Though the rate cut came earlier than market consensus,
uncertainties over Japan's export controls and worries over
Sino-U.S. trade negotiations had a larger impact, said Noh
Dong-kil, an analyst with NH Investment & Securities, in a note.
As the cut was in response to the sluggish economy, the impact
was limited in the stock market, he added.     
** The Bank of Korea estimated the economy to expand 2.2% in
2019, slowing from 2.5% seen earlier. It also trimmed this
year's inflation forecast to 0.7% from 1.1% seen previously.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS6N24200J    
** The trade dispute between South Korea and Japan has shown
scant signs of fading. Tokyo is considering taking the dispute
with South Korea over its compensation for wartime forced
labourers to the International Court of Justice, Japanese public
broadcaster NHK reported.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24J0AO    
** The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI index  .KS11  closed down
6.37 points, or 0.31%, at 2,066.55 points.    
** Shares of YG Entertainment  122870.KQ , which manages top
K-pop performers, closed 2% lower, after local media reported a
former chief producer for the company had been booked by the
local police on allegations that he arranged sex services for
foreign investors.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24J08B
         
** Foreigners were net buyers of 71.3 billion won ($60.51
million) worth of shares on the main board. 
    
** The won was quoted at 1,178.8 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.21% higher than its previous
close at 1,181.3.
     
** In offshore trading, the won  KRW=  was quoted at 1,178.1 per
U.S. dollar, up 0.1% from the previous day, while in
non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract
 KRW1MNDFOR=  was quoted at 1,177.5 per dollar.
    
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was down 0.27%, after U.S. stocks slipped
 MKTS/GLOB . Japanese stocks  .N225  fell 1.97%.
    
** The KOSPI has risen 1.25% so far this year, and gained 0.3%
in the previous 30 trading sessions.
    
** The current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10, the dividend
yield is 1.28% and the market capitalisation is 1,242.04
trillion won.
    
** The trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index
 .KS11  was 437.18 million shares and, of the total traded
issues of 895, the number of advancing shares was 323.
    
** The won has lost 5.4% against the U.S dollar so far this
year.
    
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  rose 0.17 points to 110.77, while the
3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.62%.
    
** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 5.1
basis points to 1.348%, while the benchmark 10-year yield
declined by 7.7 basis points to 1.471%.

($1 = 1,178.2300 won)

 (Reporting by Hayoung Choi, Yena Park; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
 ((hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5643; Reuters
Messaging: hayoung.choi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))