SEOUL: The South Korean won rose against the dollar on Monday morning, buoyed by demand from exporters for month-end settlements and as escalating tensions in Ukraine weighed on the greenback.
The local currency was quoted at 1,038.0 against the dollar as of 0245 GMT, up 0.3 percent from Friday's close of onshore trade at 1,041.5.
"The dollar selling by exporters isn't as robust, but the won appears to be backed by offshore dollar-short positions," a foreign bank dealer said.
Pro-Russian rebels paraded European monitors they are holding in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, freeing one but saying they had no plans to release another seven as the United States and Europe prepared new sanctions against Moscow.
Dealers added that further gains in the won would likely be capped in the afternoon due to caution over potential intervention by Seoul to curb the pace of the currency's appreciation.
Meanwhile, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.1 percent at 1,974.58 points as of 0245 GMT after three days of declines.
"Global stocks as a whole have undergone a correction due to the Ukraine tensions and anxiety over the US Federal Reserve meeting. But considering the causes for correction have been exposed for some time, the local market is showing some resilience," said Lim Dong-rak, an analyst at Hanyang Securities.
Fed policymakers will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
State-run utilities Korea Electric Power Corp and Korea Gas Corp rose 1.9 percent and 1 percent, respectively, as investors sought defensive plays.
Foreign investors sold a net 24 billion won ($23 million) worth of KOSPI shares by midsession.
They offloaded technology names like Naver Corp and SK Hynix Inc, which dropped 1.6 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
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