Seoul: Stocks gain on Trump's optimistic remark on trade talks

[SEOUL] South Korea's Kospi stock index ended higher on Wednesday as investors were relieved by US President Donald Trump's optimistic comment on trade negotiation with China. The Korean won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield fell. The Seoul stock market's main Kospi closed up 10.95 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 2,092.79.

US President Donald Trump called the trade war with China "a little squabble" and insisted talks between the world's two largest economies had not collapsed.

Sharp gain of Chinese stocks, boosted by bargain hunting, also gave positive impact to South Korean market, Seo Sang-young, an analyst from Kiwoom Securities, said in a note.

Foreigners were net sellers of 77.5 billion won worth of shares on the main board.

The won was quoted at 1,188.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.07 per cent higher than its previous close at 1,189.4.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,188.6 per U.S. dollar, down 0.1 per cent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract was quoted at 1,187.2 per dollar.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.60 per cent, after US stocks bounced back . Japanese stocks rose 0.58 per cent.

The Kospi has risen 2.54 per cent so far this year, and fell 2.7 per cent in the previous 30 trading sessions.

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 556.55 million shares and, of the total traded issues of 893, the number of advancing shares was 645.

The won has lost 6.1 per cent against the US dollar this year.

In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds was unchanged at 109.55, while the three-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.84 per cent.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.3 basis points to 1.708 per cent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 0.7 basis points to 1.862 per cent.

REUTERS