Seoul: Won, stocks end down as Fed keeps door open to June hike

[SEOUL] The South Korean won and shares marked their second session of declines on Thursday after minutes of the US Federal Reserve's last meeting showed policymakers were open to a rate increase in June.

The won was quoted at 1,191.7 to the US dollar at the conclusion of onshore trade, down 0.8 per cent from Wednesday's close of 1,182.6.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 0.5 per cent at 1,946.78 points.

Foreign investors have been sellers for three straight days, offloading a net 22.1 billion won (S$25.63 million) worth of KOSPI shares for the day.

REUTERS