Seoul: Stocks, won slip despite bullish central bank outlook

[SEOUL] South Korean shares erased earlier gains to end at a one-week low on Thursday, as investors stepped up selling of heavyweight tech firms, offsetting the central bank's bullish economic outlook.

The Bank of Korea upgraded its growth outlook to 3 per cent, boosting chances of a rate hike in the coming months though the policy rate was kept unchanged at its October review.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 0.4 per cent at 2,473.06 points.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 3.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.

Local institutions sold a net 33 billion won (S$39.6 million) worth of KOSPI shares while foreign investors offloaded 17.2 billion won worth.

The South Korean won also edged down, tracking weaknesses in overall Asian currencies.

The won was quoted at 1,132.4 to the US dollar at the conclusion of onshore trade, down 0.2 per cent from Wednesday's close of 1,129.9.

December futures on three-year Treasury bonds dropped sharply as traders bet on the higher possibility of a rate hike after the central bank governor's news conference. The futures shed 0.21 point to 108.30.

Reuters