South Korean shares little changed with focus on tariff talks

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares set to snap 3-week decline on tariff negotiation hopes

• South Korean shares were little changed on Monday as investors awaited tariff talks with the US scheduled for later this week.

• The benchmark KOSPI was down 0.33 points, or 0.03%, at 2,482.65 as of 0451 GMT, after rising as much as 0.6% earlier in the session.

• South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo said he expected trade talks with the United States this week in Washington to be the start of meaningful cooperation, but added that negotiations may not be easy.

• South Korea’s leading presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, pledged to revive legislation to curb abuses by controlling shareholders as part of a plan to boost the stock market and eliminate the so-called “Korea Discount”, a tendency of lower valuations compared with global peers.

• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.18% and peer SK Hynix gained 0.97%, but battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 1.04%.

• Hyundai Motor added 0.05% and sister automaker Kia Corp gained 0.80%, while search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 0.27% and down 0.51%, respectively.

• Of the total 934 traded issues, 419 shares advanced, while 462 declined.

• Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 272.9 billion won ($192.4 million).

• The won was quoted 0.38% higher at 1,418.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform.

• In the money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.05 points to 107.66.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 3.5 basis points (bps) to 2.330%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 1.2 bps to 2.611%.