Seoul: Won, stocks tread water; major economies' data awaited

[SEOUL] The South Korean won and shares made only small moves early on Wednesday, with many investors staying on the sidelines as views on how soon US interest rates will rise changing often.

The won stood at 1,116.7 as of 0214 GMT, up 0.3 per cent from Tuesday's close of 1,119.9.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) was down 0.3 per cent at 2,034.60 points.

Jung Sung-yoon, a foreign exchange analyst at Hyundai Futures, expects moves could get sharper as economic indicators from major economies including the US and China come out in the near future.

Indicators such as the US August jobs report on Friday "may cause the won to move wildly," he said.

Offshore investors were poised to be sellers of KOPS shares on Wednesday, but the amount was moderate at a net 18.5 billion Korean won (S$22.5 million).

Shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine Co Ltd gained as much as 8.9 per cent as Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd lost support from its creditor banks.

Korean Air Lines Co Ltd, under the same group as Handing Shipping, rose as much as 5.8 per cent as investor concerns over damage possibly spilling over to related companies ebbed.

Hanjin Shipping has decided to file for court receivership.

Decliners outnumbered advancers 562 to 229.

September futures on three-year treasury bonds shed 0.05 point to 110.80.

REUTERS