[SEOUL] Most South Korean shares and the won showed subdued movement early on Friday, but Samsung group shares fell, some sharply, after Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said it was difficult to adopt a holding company structure at this time.

Samsung Electronics dropped over one per cent, while Samsung C&T Corp and Samsung SDS Co Ltd both plummetted by more than 8 per cent.

In the broader market investors were waiting to see whether US President Donald Trump rally his party to push through a healthcare bill.

The healthcare vote is seen as a test for the Trump's administration that could show its chances of success in pushing through fiscal measures to support its economic agenda.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) was down 0.3 per cent at 2,166.58 points as of 0245 GMT.

The won stood at 1,123.8 to the US dollar, down 0.1 per cent from Thursday's close of 1,122.4.

Kim Ji Hyung, a stock analyst at Hanyang Securities, said. that if Mr Trump fails to dismantle Obamacare, it will have negative effects on both US and South Korean stock markets.

Offshore investors were expected to be small net sellers of Kospi shares near mid-session.

March futures on three-year treasury bonds shed 0.04 point to 109.44.

REUTERS