Seoul: Shares, won fall on Fed outlook; Samsung Elec rallies

[SEOUL] South Korean shares closed lower on Thursday in response to a slightly more hawkish policy tone by the US Federal Reserve, but were off session lows after Samsung Electronics rallied on hopes of a near term turnaround in fortunes.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 0.11 per cent to close at 1,958.93 points, but pared losses of around 0.9 per cent by late morning.

The main bourse found some support as Samsung Electronics , the largest listing on the KOSPI by market capitalization, rallied 4.5 per cent on optimism of a fourth-quarter turnaround in the tech giant's fortunes.

The South Korean won fell on Thursday, as the dollar rallied broadly on the back of hawkish undertones in the Fed's description on the state of the US economy.

The local currency was quoted at 1,055.5 to the dollar at the conclusion of onshore trade, compared to Wednesday's close of 1,047.3.

REUTERS