Seoul: Stocks pull away from lows, but on track for losing week

[SEOUL] South Korean shares edged away from the previous session's four-week lows in early trade on Friday as the recently battered construction sector rose, though gains were seen limited as foreign investors continued to sell tech shares.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) was up 0.2 per cent at 2,392.20 points as of 0215 GMT, after it skidded 1.7 per cent on Thursday. It was still on track for its second straight losing week, down 0.3 per cent.

"Foreign investors are continuing to sell in South Korea's IT sector following US tech shares' slump overnight," said Seo Sang-Young, a stock analyst at Kiwoon Securities in a note.

Offshore investors sold a net 20.3 billion won (S$24.49 million) worth of Kospi shares near mid-session.

Chipmaker SK Hynix lost 1.9 per cent.

The construction sector, a major contributor to the Kospi's big drop on Thursday, was up 1.5 per cent. GS Construction gained 3.3 per cent and Hyundai Engineering & Construction rose 2.3 per cent.

Other market heavyweights, such as Posco and Hyundai Motor, each rose more than one per cent.

Advancing issues slightly outnumbered declining ones 403 to 385.

The South Korean won also rose after three losing sessions, as the US dollar was pressured by the US political uncertainties regarding Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The won edged up 0.3 per cent against the US dollar to 1,125.7 compared to the previous close of 1,128.8.

September futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.04 point to 109.34.

REUTERS