South Korean shares track Wall Street lower; set for weekly rise

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares rise; domestic political developments in focus

• South Korean shares edged lower on Friday, tracking overnight declines on Wall Street, but were still set for a fourth straight week of gains.

• The benchmark KOSPI was down 4.50 points, or 0.18%, at 2,522.99 as of 0416 GMT.

• The index has risen 0.5% this week, after a 3% jump in the previous week.

• US stocks dipped on Thursday as a jump in the prior session cooled, while investors eyed the most recent corporate earnings and gauged economic data to determine the path of Federal Reserve rate cuts.

• South Korea’s acting president on Friday ordered to closely monitor new policies of the incoming US administration, ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, and to make efforts to keep financial markets stable.

• Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 1.47%, but peer SK Hynix gained 2.86%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slipped 0.14%.

• Hyundai Motor shed 2.97% and sister automaker Kia Corp fell 1.84%.

• Search engine Naver and instant messenger Kakao were up 1.21% and down 0.95%, respectively.

• Of the total 943 traded issues, 389 shares advanced and 488 declined.

• Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 314.3 billion won ($215.8 million).

• The won was quoted at 1,455.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, up 0.14% from its previous close.

• In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.23 point to 106.93.

• The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 2.5 basis points to 2.567%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell 0.7 bps to 2.796%.