Seoul: Won, stocks recover as Fed Sept hike talk ebbs

[SEOUL] The South Korean won and shares rebounded early on Tuesday after US Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard's comments made it more likely that the Fed will stand pat in September.

The won stood at 1,109.5 as of 0203 GMT, up 0.4 per cent compared with Monday's close of 1,113.5.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) was up 0.6 per cent at 2,003.54 points.

"If the Fed ends up keeping its rates unchanged for September, the won will be kept at its current level which is at around 1,100," said June Park, a foreign exchange analyst at Daishin Economic Research Institute.

"However, the won is expected to weaken toward the year-end since the Fed seems like it really wants to raise rates within this year," added Ms Park.

Offshore investors were poised to be net buyers, purchasing 131.0 billion Korean won (S$160.7 million) worth of Kospi shares near mid-session.

Shares of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd bounced almost 5.0 per cent, paring its losses from the previous session following news that Samsung Group de facto leader Jay Y Lee is poised to take a board seat.

Korea Electric Power Corp gained more than 2 per cent.

Advancers slightly outnumbered decliners 446 to 348.

September futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.04 point to 110.64.

South Korean market will be closed from Wednesday to Friday for a national holiday and resume its trade on September 19.

REUTERS