Seoul: Won, stocks nudge up on oil price rise

[SEOUL] The South Korean won and shares notched modest gains early on Tuesday, fuelled by a rise in global oil prices although buying was tempered by a lack of foreign trading volumes.

The local currency stood at 1,144.6 to the US dollar, up 0.2 per cent from Monday's close of 1,146.5. It touched 1,141.8 shortly after markets opened to mark a fresh high this year against the US dollar.

"The won's movement for the day depends on the dollar's supply and demand in the market since there is no decisive factor today," said Jeong My Young, a foreign exchange analyst at Samsung Futures.

South Korean shares were mostly steady amid low-volume trading.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.3 per cent at 1,975.36 points as of 0225 GMT.

Foreign investors held back and were trading in small volumes on the main board.

Tech firm LG Electronics Inc slipped 1.9 per cent on investors' profit taking the day after the company said its first-quarter operating profit is likely to rise 66 per cent from last year late on Monday.

Mobile chat app operator Kakao Corp rose 2.8 per cent after it issued 250 billion won worth of convertible bonds.

Automobile manufacturer Hyundai Motor Co gained 1.4 per cent.

Decliners outnumbered advancers 421 to 357.

March futures on three-year treasury bonds shed 0.01 point to 110.29.

REUTERS