SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets: South Korea's KOSPI stock index ended higher on Thursday as the Sino-U.S. trade war showed signs of abating. South Korean bond yields dropped, while the currency won gained.
** Markets are slowly growing less pessimistic about the chances of a Sino-U.S. trade deal after a slew of news this week pointed to easing tensions between the two powers.
** Reuters had reported on Wednesday that Chinese state-owned companies have bought more than 1.5 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans in the first major U.S. soybean purchases in more than six months.
** China appears to be easing its high-tech industrial development push, dubbed "Made in China 2025," which has long irked the United States, amid talks between the two countries to reduce trade tensions.
** At 0633 GMT, the KOSPI was up 12.98 points or 0.62 percent at 2,095.55.
** Chinese media reported investment plans of Samsung SDI Co Ltd in Chinese battery industry, sending shares up 4.6 percent and extending gains to a second session. The company's official said it is still considering its investment and that the size of it has not been finalised.
** Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd said it won order worth 211.2 billion won ($187.95 million) to build one LNG carrier in Oceania region, sending shares 7.7 percent higher.
** Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd closed 3.9 percent firmer as it won an order worth 68 billion won in South Korea's Defense Acquisition Programme Administration.
** Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd ended up 2.1 percent after the company said it has reached its order goals for the year in advance after winning order in South Korea's Defense Acquisition Programme Administration. The company said its total orders of Jan-Dec were worth $13.3 billion.
** The won was quoted at 1,123.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.45 percent firmer than its previous close at 1,128.5.
** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,123.03 per U.S. dollar, up 0.07 percent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards it was being transacted at 1,103.05 per dollar.
** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.85 percent, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with gains. Japanese stocks rose 0.99 percent.
** The KOSPI is down about 15.6 percent so far this year, and up by 2.61 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 368,200,000 shares and, of the total traded issues of 894, the number of advancing shares was 652.
** Foreigners were net buyers of 485,437 million won worth of shares.
** The U.S dollar has risen 5.31 percent against the won this year. The won's high for the year is 1,053.55 per dollar on April 2 and low is 1,146.26 on Oct. 11.
** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds slipped 0.01 points to 109.16.
** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was quoted at 1.9 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean treasury bond yielded 1.795 percent, lower than the previous day's 1.80 percent.
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