South Korean stocks hampered by slowing corporate earnings

SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korea's KOSPI stock index edged up for the fifth consecutive session on Thursday, though growing optimism of a Sino-U.S. trade deal to end a months-long tariff dispute was offset by expectations for tepid first quarter corporate earnings. The Korean won weakened, and the benchmark bond yield fell.

** The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI rose 3.26 points or 0.15 percent to 2,206.53 points.

** S.Korean stocks are relatively less attractive to foreigners compared with other emerging countries such as China due to fast-slowing earnings including for major semiconductor companies, said Ko Seung-hee, an analyst from Mirae Asset Daewoo.

** The odds are stacked against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 005930.KS ahead of the release of its first-quarter earnings guidance on Friday, with memory chip prices falling and its pricey premium smartphones struggling to be profitable.

** Foreigners were net buyers of 240.1 billion won worth of shares on the main board.

** The won was quoted at 1,136.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.18 percent lower than its previous close at 1,134.3.

** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,135.9 per U.S. dollar, down 0.2 percent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forward trading its one-month contract  was quoted at 1,134.9 per dollar.

** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan  was down 0.38 percent. Japanese stocks rose 0.05 percent.

** The KOSPI has risen 8.11 percent so far this year, and fell 0.1 percent in the previous 30 trading sessions.

** 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 425.46 million shares and, of the total traded issues of 896, the number of advancing shares was 429.

** The won has lost 1.8 percent against the U.S dollar this year.

** In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.02 points to 109.59, while the 3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.87 percent.

** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 0.2 basis points to 1.722 percent, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 1.3 basis points to 1.876 percent.