Seoul: Stocks turn down as Samsung Electric extends losses; won eases

[SEOUL] South Korea's KOSPI stock index weakened on Tuesday. The Korean won inched down on the local platform while bond yields rose.

At 0630 GMT, the KOSPI was down 3.05 points or 0.12 per cent at 2,510.23. The benchmark index erased earlier gains as market heavyweight Samsung Electronics extended losses to more than 3 per cent after its fourth-quarter profit guidance missed expectations.

The won was quoted at 1,067.1 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.1 per cent weaker than its previous close at 1,066. In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,066.69 per dollar, up 0.15 per cent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards it changed hands at 1,058.3 per dollar.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.01 per cent, after U.S. stocks maintained their New Year rally. Japanese stocks rose 0.57 per cent.

The KOSPI is up around 1.9 per cent so far this year, and up by 1.07 per cent in the previous 30 days. The current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10, the dividend yield is 1.28 per cent and the market capitalisation is 1,242.04 trillion won.

The trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index was 369,650,000 shares, and of the total traded issues of 882, the number of advancing shares was 382. Foreigners were net buyers of 19,331 million won worth of shares.

The dollar has stayed flat with a change of 0.01 per cent against the won this year. The won's high for the year is 1,059 per dollar on Jan 8 and low is 1,069.7 also on the same day.

In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.05 points to 107.85.

The Korean three-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was quoted at 1.66 per cent, unchanged from its previous close, while the benchmark three-year Korean treasury bond yielded 2.151 per cent, higher than the previous day's 2.14 per cent.

REUTERS