South Korea stocks edge up in subdued trading, won steady
South Korean shares got off to a slow start in the new year on Monday. (Source: AP Photo) South Korean shares got off to a slow start in the new year on Monday. (Source: AP Photo)
South Korean shares got off to a slow start in the new year on Monday, with major global markets shut and investors awaiting minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting and U.S. jobs data. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.2 percent at 2,030.95 points as of 0306 GMT, after the market opened an hour later than normal. The index finished 2016 up 3.3 percent. “Share movements will be boxed in throughout the week as the Federal Open Market Committee’s December meeting minutes and U.S. employment data are all coming out later this week,” said Kim Ye-eun, a stock analyst at LIG Investment & Securities.
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The FOMC minutes are due on Wednesday and the U.S. non-farm payrolls report for December is due on Friday. In mid-session trade, offshore investors were small net sellers of KOSPI shares. Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd was 0.4 percent higher while web portal Naver Corp rose more than 1 percent.
Decliners outnumbered advancers 446 to 341. The South Korean won was quoted at 1,207.6 to the dollar, little changed from the previous close of 1,207.7. March futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.03 point to 109.60.
0306 GMT Prev close Dollar/won 1,207.6 1,207.7 Yen/won 10.3277/67 10.3121 *KTB futures 109.60 109.57 KOSPI 2,030.95 2,026.46 * Front-month futures on three-year treasury bonds