Seoul: Stocks end higher, won drops

[SEOUL] South Korea's KOSPI stock index ended higher on Monday. The South Korean won dropped, while the bond yields rose. As at 0630 GMT, the KOSPI closed up 2.42 points or 0.10 per cent at 2,457.49. The won was quoted at 1,074 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.42 per cent weaker than its previous close at 1,069.5.

Foreign investors' counter remittance of their dividend probably have weighed on the currency, said foreign exchange dealers. In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,073.02 per US dollar, down 0.22 per cent from the previous session, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards it was being asked at 1,057.1 per dollar.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.64 per cent, after US stocks ended the previous session with losses. Japanese stocks rose 0.26 per cent.

The KOSPI slid around 0.5 per cent so far this year, and down by 2.20 per cent in the previous 30 days. The current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10, the dividend yield is 1.28 per cent and the market capitalisation is 1,242.04 trillion won.

The trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index was 338,976,000 shares, and of the total traded issues of 883, the number of advancing shares was 414 shares.

Foreigners were net sellers of 38,040 million won worth of shares. The US dollar has risen 0.62 per cent against the won this year. The won's high for the year is 1,053.55 per dollar on Apr 2, 2018, and low is 1,098.4 on Feb 6 this year.

In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds dipped 0.01 points to 107.91. The Korean three-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was quoted at 1.65 per cent, while the benchmark three-year Korean treasury bond yielded 2.161 per cent, higher than the previous day's 2.16 per cent.

REUTERS