Seoul: Won down, stocks subdued on doubts over Trump's economic policies

[SEOUL] The South Korean won slumped on Friday and Seoul stocks edged lower despite paring some intraday losses, as risk-aversion gripped global markets anxious about US President Donald Trump's ability to push through his economic policies.

The won was quoted at 1,141.3 to the US dollar at the conclusion of onshore trade, down 0.4 per cent compared to Thursday's close of 1,137.2.

South Korean shares pared some of their losses as some investors picked up bargains with the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) closing down 0.1 per cent at 2,358.37 points.

Foreign investors turned net buyers later in the session, purchasing a net 6.7 billion won (S$8.04 million) worth of local equities.

Both the won and shares ended the week up, recovering from last week's huge falls.

The currency snapped three consecutive weeks of losses to book a 0.2 per cent gain while the Kospi jumped 1.7 per cent, its biggest weekly gain since late May.

REUTERS

BT is now on Telegram!

For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes