Seoul: South Korean stocks gain as Fed unveils tapering as expected

[SEOUL] South Korean shares rose on Thursday (Nov 4) after the US Federal Reserve announced stimulus tapering as expected and said it would stay patient and wait for more job growth before raising interest rates. The Korean won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark Kospi rose 7.51 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 2,983.22, as at 0632 GMT.

Among heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.28 per cent and peer SK Hynix gained 0.47 per cent. LG Chem rose 0.77 per cent and Naver advanced 2.24 per cent.

A somewhat dovish stance by the US Federal Open Market Committee lifted Asian markets but buying sentiment was not that strong in the afternoon, said Seo Jung-hun, an analyst at Samsung Securities.

The Kospi has risen 3.82 per cent so far this year, but lost 5.6 per cent in the previous 30 trading sessions.

The trading volume during the session in the Kospi index was 759.28 million shares. Of the total traded issues of 928, the number of advancing shares was 295.

REUTERS