Seoul: Stocks rise as Fed worries ease; won recovers

[SEOUL] South Korean shares rose early on Tuesday on easing concerns of an interest rate increase in the United States as early as September, with buying from offshore investors and domestic institutions underpinning the market.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) was up 0.8 per cent at 2,049.21 points as of 0217 GMT.

Kim Sung Hwan, a stock analyst at Bookook Securities, said that foreign investors are buying the local equities in tandem with the won's bounce from Monday's loss.

The won has been under pressure after hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday kept the US dollar well bid.

Mr Kim added that market consensus on US August employment data, due to be released on Friday, isn't very positive, and so a weak outcome would lift the Kospi in the near term.

Offshore investors were poised to be net buyers for the day, purchasing 36.6 billion Korean won (S$44.52 million) worth of Kospi shares near mid-session.

Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd gained more than one per cent while Lotte Fine Chemical Co Ltd rose 3.8 per cent.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones 523 to 262.

The South Korean won recovered previous day's loss and was quoted at 1,119.1 per US dollar, up 0.5 per cent compared with Monday's close of 1,125.0.

September futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.04 point to 110.94.

REUTERS