Seoul: Stocks start week higher; earnings, Fed meeting eyed

[SEOUL] South Korean shares opened higher on Monday, ahead of a big earnings week and a meeting of the US Federal Reserve where investors will look for clues on the strength of the recovery in the world's largest economy.

The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell.

The benchmark Kospi rose 12.05 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 3,198.15 by 0108 GMT.

South Korean steelmaker POSCO announced its first-quarter earnings on Monday. This will followed by Samsung SDI, LG Display, LG Chem through the week.

Investors want to check how strong the recovery is not just in South Korea but also in the global economy. Hence, earnings are in focus globally, says Seo Jung-hun, an analyst at Samsung Securities.

Among the heavyweights, technology giant Samsung Electronics rose 0.2 per cent and peer SK Hynix fell 1.1 per cent.

LG Chem and Naver slid 0.5 per cent and 0.4 per cent each.

Foreigners were net buyers of 36.8 billion won (S$43.8 million) worth of shares on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,115.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform , up 0.2 per cent.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,114.3 per dollar, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract was quoted at 1,114.6.

The trading volume on Kospi was 500.5 million shares. Of the total traded issues of 908, the number of advancing shares was 493.

The won has lost 2.6 per cent against the dollar so far this year.

In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.01 point to 110.91.

The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.7 basis point to 1.127 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 0.8 basis point to 2.035 per cent.

REUTERS