Seoul: Won takes a breather after rally, stocks up

[SEOUL] The South Korean won looked set to snap a four-session rally on Monday as investors took a breather while shares edged higher.

The local currency edged down 0.3 per cent at 1,148.5 as of 0201 GMT, compared to Friday's onshore close of 1,145.0.

The won had risen to a near two-month high on Friday as investors' appetite for riskier assets slowly recovered after being pummelled by Britain's vote to leave the European Union on June 23.

"The won is unlikely to fall aggressively today, but wariness against possible intervention, uncertainties stemming from Brexit and a weakened yuan will all keep it under pressure," said Jeon Seung Ji, an analyst at Samsung Futures.

Ms Jeon said she sees the won trading between 1,147 and 1,154 on Monday.

Shares were poised for a sixth day of gains but the rise was moderate.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) was up 0.4 per cent at 1,994.59 points.

Foreign investors had bought a net 39.9 billion Korean won (S$46.70 million) of Kospi shares by near mid-session, but retail investors mostly bolstered the index, snapping up 212.9 billion won worth of stocks.

Advancers outnumbered decliners 447 to 342.

Shares in SK Innovation Co Ltd and S-Oil Corp were trading up 5.4 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively on market hopes for bigger refinery margins.

LG Household and Healthcare Ltd were set to extend their rally by a sixth day on second-quarter earnings hopes, trading up around 2 per cent early on Monday.

September futures on three-year treasury bonds edged down 0.03 points to trade at 111.10.

REUTERS