Seoul: Stocks, won both end the week with gains

[SEOUL] South Korea's Kospi stock index rose on Friday. The Korean won ended trade slightly weaker in the local platform and bond yields fell.

At 0630 GMT, the Kospi was up 12.59 points or 0.51 per cent at 2,482.07. The benchmark index gained 0.7 per cent for the week, ending two straight weeks of losses.

The won was quoted at 1,089.8 per US dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.06 per cent weaker than its previous close at 1,089.1. The currency gained 0.3 per cent on a weekly basis.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,088.16 per US dollar, up percent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards it was being transacted at 1,082.45 per US dollar.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.50 per cent, after US stocks ended the previous session with mild losses. Japanese stocks weakened 0.62 per cent.

The Kospi is up around 21.9 per cent so far this year, and down by 3.02 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 (S$1.54 trillion).

The trading volume during the session on the Kospi index was 334,880,000 shares, and of the 878 issues traded, 419 advanced. Foreigners were net sellers of 201,736 million won worth of shares. The US dollar has fallen 9.79 percent against the won this year.

The won's high for the year is 1,075.71 per US dollar on Nov 29, 2017 and its low was 1,211.8 on Jan 3, 2017.

In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.03 points to 108.33.

The Korean three-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was quoted at 1.66 per cent unchanged from the previous close of 1.66 per cent, while the benchmark three-year Korean treasury bond yielded 2.074 per cent, lower than the previous day's 2.08 per cent.

REUTERS