South Korea won edges up, helped by exporters' sales, shares down

[SEOUL] The South Korean won edged up on Monday as the dollar wobbled, but trade was cautious ahead of a G20 meeting later in the week.

The won was quoted at 1,232.5 against the dollar, up 0.2 per cent from Friday's onshore close of 1,234.4.

"The won will likely remain between 1,230 to 1,240, helped by exporters' sales this morning, yet traders remain bearish towards risky assets," said Park Yuna, a foreign-exchange analyst at Dongbu Securities.

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will gather in Shanghai later this week to discuss global growth outlook and financial market volatility.

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said on Friday that they should focus on global economic spillovers from their policy decisions.

Investors are awaiting surveys on manufacturing PMI surveys in both the US and Europe, which will offer further clues on health of global economy. A flash survey on Japan showed growth slowed markedly in February.

South Korean shares edged lower on profit-taking after the index climbed to 4.4 per cent in the previous week.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 0.3 per cent at 1,910.00 points as of 0255 GMT.

Shares in LG Electronics Inc rose 3.1 per cent on hopes of increasing sales after the company showed off its first modular smartphone, with a B&O sound system and wide-angle lens.

LG Chem shares were down 0.7 per cent after the company said on Monday it will supply electric vehicle batteries to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV FCH.MI FCAU.N from late this year.

Foreign investors purchased a net 4.4 billion Korean won (S$5.01 million) worth of KOSPI shares by midday.

The KOSPI 200 benchmark of core stocks was down 0.5 per cent, while the junior KOSDAQ edged 0.6 per cent higher.

March futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.1 point at 110.25.

REUTERS