[SEOUL] South Korea's KOSPI stock index rose on Thursday. The South Korean won weakened and bond yields fell. At 0630 GMT, the KOSPI was up 0.38 points or 0.02 per cent at 2,515.81.

The won was quoted at 1,070.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.13 per cent weaker than its previous close at 1,069.3. Trade was calm through the session as the Bank of Korea's decision to hold interest rates was in line with expectations.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,069.93 per US dollar, down 0.33 per cent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards it was being transacted at 1,061.3 per dollar.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.07 per cent, after US stocks ended the previous session with mild gains. Japanese stocks weakened 0.44 per cent.

The KOSPI is up around 1.9 per cent so far this year, and up by 1.62 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 329,221,000 shares. Of the 885 total traded issues, the number of advancing shares was 473.

Foreigners were net buyers of 94,777 million won worth of shares. The US dollar has risen 0.33 per cent against the won this year. The won's high for the year is 1,056.67 per dollar on Jan 14 2018 and its low is 1,073.2 on Jan 11 2018.

In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.13 points to 107.77. The Korean three-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was quoted at 1.65 per cent, unchanged from its previous close, while the benchmark three-year Korean treasury bond yielded 2.173 per cent, lower than the previous day's 2.23 per cent.

REUTERS