South Korea: Stocks jump as investors cheer dovish Fed stance

[SEOUL] South Korean shares jumped on Thursday as investors cheered the US Federal Reserve's policy signal that it would not change interest rates anytime soon.

The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI ended up 31.73 points, or 1.51 per cent, at 2,137.35, marking its largest daily percentage gain since Aug 30.

The Fed on Wednesday held interest rates steady and signalled borrowing costs will not change anytime soon, with moderate economic growth and historically low unemployment expected to persist through the 2020 US presidential election.

In terms of the brisk outlook for US economy, the Fed meeting was favourable for local markets, said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities.

Foreigners were net buyers of US$427.28 million worth of shares on the main board.

The KOSPI has gained 4.72 per cent so far this year, adding 1.2 per cent in the previous 30 trading sessions.

The trading volume during the session in the KOSPI index was 571.22 million shares and, of the total traded issues of 909, the number of advancing shares was 619.

REUTERS