Seoul: Stocks end little changed on prospects of Fed taper delay

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed almost unchanged on Monday, as investors remained cautious after long-awaited US payrolls data threw doubt on tapering of the Federal Reserve's bond purchase programme. The won ended flat, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

The benchmark Kospi ended 2.27 points or 0.07 per cent higher at 3,203.33.

Among the heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.91 per cent and peer SK Hynix fell 0.93 per cent, while LG Chem rose 3.45 per cent and Naver rose 0.33 per cent.

Investors are assessing the fallout from the September payrolls report, which showed a much smaller increase in jobs than expected but also a pick up in wages.

Foreigners were net buyers of 63.9 billion won (S$74.2 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won ended at 1,156.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.04 per cent higher than its previous close at 1,157.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,155.7 per dollar, down 0.1 per cent from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,156.1.

In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.06 point to 110.33.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 2.5 basis points to 1.463 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 3 basis points to 1.973 per cent.

REUTERS