SEOUL: The South Korean won was nursing moderate losses on Wednesday morning as market players turned skittish over the weakening yen, which fell to a seven-year low against the dollar overnight.
The won was quoted at 1,116.8 to the dollar as of 0110 GMT compared to 1,106.8 at Tuesday's close, closing the gap with a 15-month low of 1,120.0 seen during Monday's session.
The yen/won cross rate was drifting just below 9.35, a whisker above a 6-year trough, placing investors on alert over possible intervention by financial authorities to check the won's strength relative to the yen in a bid to protect local exporters.
"The yen has now moved back above 119 to the dollar, and growing expectations of easing by the ECB as well as positive forecasts for the upcoming US payrolls data are all pointing to bullish signals for the greenback," said Hong Seok-chan, an FX strategist at Daishin Economic Research Institute.
Comments from two Federal Reserve officials who stressed the positive impact on the US economy from a decline in oil prices also boosted the dollar.
South Korean shares edged higher on Wednesday, led by gains in blue-chip exporters after US construction spending and sales data pointed to solid growth in the US economy, a major destination for South Korean exports.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.2 percent at 1,969.68 points as of 0110 GMT.
Automobile shares led the advance, boosted by strong US car sales in November which beat analysts' forecasts by a significant margin to grow at their fastest pace for that month since 2003.
"The large discount offers aimed at Black Friday sales played a significant part, but it provides compelling evidence that household spending is on a steady recovery path while strengthening the outlook for business sentiment," said Taurus Securities in a note to clients.
Hyundai Motor climbed 2.6 percent while auto-parts manufacturer Hyundai Mobis rose 2.1 percent.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.