South Korea: Stocks, won up as BOE's stimulus signal bolsters sentiment

[SEOUL] South Korean shares and won built on their gains early on Friday after the Bank of England signalled monetary easing to support the economy after Brexit, while Seoul's decision to offer extra fiscal stimulus also continued to support sentiment.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.8 per cent at 1,986.97 points as of 0210 GMT.

The won was quoted at 1,147.5, up 0.4 per cent compared with Thursday's close of 1,151.8.

Both stocks and the won looked set for their biggest weekly percentage gains in at least more than four months.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the central bank would probably need to pump more stimulus into Britain's economy over the summer after the shock of last week's decision by voters to leave the European Union.

"The market is expecting central banks including the BOE to come up with monetary policies that are sufficient enough to overcome Brexit-related shocks, and such hopes are mainly pulling stocks up," said Kim Sung Hwan, a stock analyst at Bookook Securities.

Domestically, the government will move a supplementary budget worth around 10 trillion won (S$11.7 billion) to parliament soon, providing support to a sputtering economy.

Mr Kim added the KOSPI will move between 1,950 and 2,000 points in the coming week, but tech giant Samsung Electronics' second-quarter earnings guidance, due to be released on July 7, may sway the bourse later.

Foreign investors were poised to be net buyers, purchasing 79.3 billion Korean won worth of KOSPI shares near mid-session.

Shares of Samsung Electronics Co rose 2.5 per cent while Hyundai Motor Co gained 1.1 per cent.

Advancers outnumbered decliners 577 to 214.

REUTERS