Seoul: Stocks rise ahead of US jobs data; US-China tensions weigh

[SEOUL] South Korean shares ended higher on Friday, ahead of the release of US jobs data, although sentiment was dampened by the Trump administration's move to ban US transactions with Chinese-owned apps WeChat and Tiktok.

The benchmark Kospi rose 9.06 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 2,351.67. The index jumped 4.55 per cent for the week, logging its biggest weekly gain since early June.

Democratic leaders in the US Congress and top aides to President Donald Trump failed to make substantial progress on Thursday on a new coronavirus aid bill, but both sides expressed a willingness to continue negotiations.

Investors are also looking forward to the US jobs data due later in the day, with analysts forecasting a rise of 1.58 million new jobs last month and a decline in the unemployment rate to 10.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled sweeping bans on US transactions with China's ByteDance, owner of video-sharing app TikTok and Tencent, operator of messenger app WeChat.

Foreigners were net sellers of US$65.90 million worth of shares on the main board.

REUTERS