South Korean stocks pare early losses; Powell speech eyed

Seoul: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares pared losses to close slightly lower on Friday, but ended the week with a gain of over 1%. The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose. Investors now await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole.

** The Seoul stock market's main KOSPI fell 2.71 points or 0.14% to 1,948.30.

** South Korea unexpectedly decided to end the intelligence sharing pact with Japan, and now Japan's response will be a key point on how the market will move next week, said Lee Won, an analyst at Bookook Securities.

** However, South Korea will share intelligence with Japan through a three-way channel involving the United States, despite the decision to scrap a pact with its neighbour, a senior official of the presidential Blue House said on Friday.

** Foreigners were net buyers of 8.2 billion won worth of shares on the main board.

** The won was quoted at 1,210.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.26% lower than its previous close at 1,207.4.

** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,210.5 per U.S. dollar, down 0.1% from the previous day, while in non-deliverable forward trading, its one-month contract  was quoted at 1,209.6 per dollar.

** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.25%. Japanese stocks  rose 0.40%.

** The KOSPI has fallen 4.54% so far this year, and lost 5.2% in the previous 30 trading sessions.

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

** Trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index  was 365.60 million shares and, of the total traded issues of 893, the number of advancing shares was 245.

** The won has lost 7.8% against the U.S dollar so far this year.

** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.15 points to 111.17, while the 3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.49%.

** The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 5.1 basis points to 1.181%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 4.2 basis points to 1.271%.