South Korea won falls on dollar strength, shares flat

SEOUL: The South Korean won fell on Wednesday after strong U.S housing data propelled the dollar higher against a broad range of currencies.

The won was quoted at 1,022.7 per dollar at the conclusion of domestic trade, snapping a three-day winning streak that drove it to a 5-week intraday high on Monday.

In the equities market, the benchmark KOSPI index ticked 0.08 percent higher to close at 2,072.78 points after treading water for most of the session, as investors adopted a wait-and-see stance ahead of the scheduled release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting.

Institutions were net sellers for the 9th consecutive session, offloading a net 278.1 billion won ($271.95 million) worth of shares on the main bourse.