Seoul: Stocks ease off 7-week high on caution ahead of Fed meeting

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed lower on Monday (Dec 13) after touching their highest in nearly 7 weeks earlier, as investors booked profits ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting later in the week.

The won ended flat, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The KOSPI closed down 8.57 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 3,001.66, after gaining as much as 1.12 per cent in early trade to its highest since Oct 27 on upbeat trade data.

The country reported a 20.4 per cent jump in exports for the first 10 days of December.

Meanwhile, the finance minister said South Korea would begin preparations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trading bloc.

Among heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics fell 0.13 per cent, while platform company Naver and biopharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics dropped 1.14 per cent and 3.22 per cent, respectively.

On the main KOSPI board, foreigners sold net 136.9 billion won (S$158.3 million) worth of shares.

Caution ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting led investors to book profits, said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities.

The benchmark index ended lower for a second straight day following a 7-day rally.

The won ended at 1,180.8 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, nearly unchanged from its previous close.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,181.3 per dollar, unchanged from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its 1-month contract was quoted at 1,181.2.

In money and debt markets, December futures on 3-year treasury bonds rose 0.08 point to 109.15.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 1.2 basis points to 1.794 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 3.4 basis points to 2.168 per cent.

REUTERS