South Korean shares little changed ahead of earnings, Fed outcome

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korean shares were little changed on Wednesday, as investors took a wait-and-see stance ahead of major corporate earnings and the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting outcome.

The benchmark KOSPI was up 6 points, or 0.09%, at 6,647.02, as of 0309 GMT.

Fed is expected to keep interest rates steady on Wednesday, with energy prices still elevated and the Iran war at a standstill and likely to prolong uncertainty about the economic and monetary policy outlook.

Itwill also be Jerome Powell’s last meeting as head of the US central bank. Chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 0.34%, ahead of its first-quarter earnings release later this week. Peer SK Hynix was flat.

Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 0.64%, while Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 0.72% and up 0.26%, respectively.

Steelmaker POSCO Holdings added 0.96%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 2.13%.

Of the total 888 traded issues, 401 shares advanced, while 450 declined.

Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 785.9 billion won ($532.42 million).

The won was quoted at 1,476.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.24% lower than its previous close at 1,473.2.

In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.06 point to 103.68.

The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 2.6 basis points to 3.552%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 1.6 bps to 3.875%. ‑Reuters