South Korean stocks flat amid global uncertainties; won slumps to 2-week low

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korea's KOSPI stock index ended nearly flat on Tuesday as sharp gains in Samsung BioLogics Co Ltd  on resumption of trade offset losses caused by external uncertainties, including Brexit vote delay, and global growth concerns. The Korean won fall to 2-week low while bond yields also fell.

** The KOSPI closed down 0.82 points, or 0.04 percent, at 2,052.97, ending in the negative territory for a second straight session.

** Biotech drug firm Samsung BioLogics resumed trading after the main stock exchange decided on Monday that the company is qualified to continue trading on the bourse. The stock jumped 17.8 percent, while Samsung C&T Corp, which co-owns Samsung BioLogics with tech giant Samsung Electronics , closed up 3.4 percent.

** North Korea-related shares dropped after the United States imposed sanctions on three North Korean officials, including a top aide to leader Kim Jong Un. Concrete firm SG Co Ltd and automation system company Puloon Technology Inc closed down 8.6 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

** Celltrion Inc ended down 10 percent after TV network YTN reported the financial regulator is reviewing allegation that the drugmaker's unit Celltrion Healthcare  violated accounting rules. An official at the Financial Supervisory Service, South Korea's financial watchdog, declined to comment on the report. Celltrion's other units Celltrion Healthcare and Celltrion Pharm Inc fell 12.0 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively.

** Ananti Inc surged 26.8 percent after the company said it planned to hire veteran U.S. investor Jim Rogers as a non-executive director for three years. Ananti owns a private golf and spa resort in Mountain Kumgang, located in North Korea, which has stopped operating since 2008. The decision will be made after a general meeting of shareholders on Dec. 27.

** The won was quoted at 1,130.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.32 percent weaker than its previous close at 1,126.5, hitting its lowest since Nov. 28.

** The Brexit vote delay boosted the dollar which led the won decline, said Lee Won, an analyst with Bokook Securities.

** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,129.17 per U.S. dollar, down 0.16 percent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards it was being asked at 1,110.25 per dollar.

** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.07 percent, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild gains. Japanese stocks weakened 0.34 percent.

** The KOSPI is down around 16.8 percent so far this year, and down by 2.89 percent in the previous 30 days.

** The current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10, the dividend yield is 1.28 percent and the market capitalisation is 1,242.04 trillion won.

** The trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index  was 267,011,000 shares and, of the total traded issues of 897, the number of advancing shares was 254.

** Foreigners were net sellers of 192,407 million won worth of shares.

** The U.S. dollar has risen 5.89 percent against the won this year. The won's high for the year is 1,053.55 per dollar on April 2 and low is 1,146.26 on Oct 11.

** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.01 points to 109.22.

** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was quoted at 1.9 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean treasury bond yielded 1.791 percent, lower than the previous day's 1.80 percent.