KOSPI rises, foreigners net sellers
Korean won weakens against dollar
South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
For the midday report, please click nL1N3XI02U
SEOUL, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares rose on Friday and logged a third weekly gain, buoyed by Wall Street's march toward fresh record highs after this week's interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 closed up 44.48 points, or 1.08%, at 4,155.10.
** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS rose 1.07%, while peer SK Hynix 000660.KS gained 0.71%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS slid 0.56%.
** Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia 000270.KS gained 1.78% and 1.63%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS added 3.73% and drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS rose 1.02%.
** The S&P 500 and the Dow boasted record closing highs on Thursday after a Fed policy update that was less hawkish than expected, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq underperformed as Oracle's ORCL.N earnings report made investors wary of AI bets.
** Australia said on Friday it would not oppose a proposal by Korea's Hanwha to nearly double its stake in Australian shipbuilder Austal ASB.AX but the deal will be constrained by strict conditions covering data access and security. Shares of Hanwha 000880.KS rose 3.3%.
** Of the total 927 traded issues, 616 advanced and 270 declined.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 102.1 billion won ($69.3 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,473.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.11% below Thursday's close of 1,471.9.
** Year-to-date, the KOSPI has risen 73.17%, while the won has weakened 0.1% against the dollar.
** In the money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 gained 0.07 point to 105.21.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR fell 0.5 basis points to 3.095%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR rose 1.4 basis points to 3.384%.
($1 = 1,473.1200 won)
(Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
((Cynthia.Kim@thomsonreuters.com; 822 3704 5655; Reuters Messaging: cynthia.kim.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Comments