South Korea won rises, tracking Chinese yuan; shares lose ground

11 Sep, 2015

SEOUL: The South Korean won joined most its regional peers in strengthening against the dollar on Friday, led by the Chinese yuan.

Market reaction was largely muted following the Bank of Korea's decision to hold interest rates steady and remarks from its governor.

The won closed local trade up 0.8 percent to 1,184.5 per dollar. The won also climbed 0.8 percent for the week.

On the stock market, Seoul shares ended down 1.1 percent to 1,941.37 points on profit-taking following a two-day rally. For the week, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 2.9 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for a 27th consecutive session, the longest such spree since July 2008. Offshore investors have sold a net 5.37 trillion won ($4.53 billion) of the KOSPI shares during the streak, preliminary data showed.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2015

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