South Korean won hits 3-month low as US jobs data keeps Fed in play, stocks drop

09 Mar, 2015

SEOUL: South Korea's won and shares slumped on Monday, tracking their Asian peers after a strong U.S. jobs report on Friday heightened expectations of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates sooner than thought.

The South Korean won ended onshore trade at 1,112.1, down 1.2 percent from Friday's close at 1,098.7 and capped the worst daily percentage fall since late October last year.

During Monday's session it touched 1,112.6, the lowest level against the dollar since Dec. 9.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 1 percent at a 1-1/2 week closing low of 1,992.82 points - it was also the sharpest daily fall in nearly two months on Monday.

Selling by foreigners and institutions dented the benchmark, dumping 64.6 billion won ($58.10 million) and 176.2 billion won worth of local shares, respectively.

Copyright Reuters, 2015

Read Comments