Seoul: Stocks, won pressured by domestic, global woes

[SEOUL] South Korean shares and the won weakened on Monday on rising market volatility amid a host of worrisome issues including a deepening political crisis at home and a looming interest rate hike in the United States.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) closed down 0.4 per cent at 1,966.05 points.

The won was quoted at 1,186.6 to the US dollar at the conclusion of onshore trade, down 0.3 per cent compared to Friday's close of 1,183.2.

Offshore investors bought a net 68.4 billion won (S$81.7 million) worth of Kospi shares for the day, partially offset by local institutions' selling 48.3 billion won worth of stock.

REUTERS