Seoul: Won up on broad US dollar weakness, stocks edge down

[SEOUL] The South Korean won inched up early on Monday as the US dollar sagged globally, although stock dividend payment to foreign investors could trigger some local currency selling.

The local currency stood at 1,148.6 against the US dollar as of 0242 GMT, up 0.5 per cent from Friday's close of 1,153.8.

Major stocks that are scheduled to pay out their dividend on the day include Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Posco and Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd.

Foreigners are scheduled to receive over 1.8 trillion won (S$2.1 billion) from Samsung Electronics.

"We're not seeing much dollar demand yet, but we might see some purchases linked to dividend payouts in the afternoon," said a foreign bank dealer in Seoul.

South Korean shares edged down with no strong catalysts shaking the market.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 0.2 per cent at 1,968.37 points.

Foreign investors were set to be sellers, unloading about 33.1 billion Korean won worth of KOSPI shares near mid-session, weighing on the index.

Decliners outnumbered advancers 434 to 356.

Samsung Engineering Co Ltd shares gained 6.4 per cent while chipmaker SK Hynix Inc was down 1.6 per cent.

June futures on three-year treasury bonds was flat at 110.30.

REUTERS