South Korean stocks edge up on gains in large tech firms; won weaker

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

South Korea's KOSPI stock index rose on Tuesday, while its won currency edged down against the greenback in onshore trade and bond yields fell.

At 06:32 GMT, the KOSPI was up 10.36 points or 0.42 percent at 2,494.48. Tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix gained 3.9 percent and 6 percent, respectively, lifting Seoul stock markets.

The won was quoted at 1,067.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.22 percent weaker than its previous close at 1,065.2.

In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,066.49 per US dollar, down 0.22 percent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards it was being transacted at 1,055.6 per dollar.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.11 percent, while two key US indexes ended the previous session with losses. Japanese stocks rose 0.66 percent.

The KOSPI is up around 0.7 percent so far this year, and has risen 2.12 percent in the previous 30 days.

The current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10, the dividend yield is 1.28 percent and the market capitalisation is 1,242.04 trillion won.

The trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index was 345,464,000 shares, and of the total traded issues of 885, the number of advancing shares was 317.

Foreigners were net buyers of 581,628 million won ($545.40 million) worth of shares. It was the largest net buying amount since Oct. 11, when they bought 702 billion won worth.

The U.S dollar has risen 0.01 percent against the won this year. The won's high for the year is 1,056.67 per dollar on Jan. 14, while the low is 1,098.4 on Feb. 6.

In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.01 points to 107.71.

The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was quoted at 1.65 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean treasury bond yielded 2.302 percent, lower than the previous day's 2.31 percent.