SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
South Korean shares traded little changed on Thursday amid mixed economic data, after ending 2024 as the worst performing Asian market.
The benchmark KOSPI was marginally down by 0.82 points, or 0.03%, at 2,398.67 as of 0136 GMT.
In 2024, the KOSPI fell 9.6%, while the MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan index rose 7.7%.
South Korea’s exports grew at a faster pace in December, beating market expectations, and ended the year with a record performance, data showed on Wednesday.
But factory activity contracted during the month, with manufacturers’ sentiment turning pessimistic for the first time since mid-2020 due to uncertainty over US trade policy and domestic politics, a survey showed on Thursday.
South Korea’s central bank governor said the pace of monetary policy easing would need to be flexible this year due to heightened political and economic uncertainty.
Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 0.56% and peer SK Hynix lost 1.61%, but battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.72%.
Hyundai Motor added 1.42% and sister automaker Kia Corp gained 1.09%, while e-commerce firms and biopharmaceutical stocks fell.
Of the total 923 traded issues, 548 shares advanced, while 311 declined.
Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 59.7 billion won ($40.63 million) on the main board on Thursday.
The won was quoted at 1,469.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.20% higher than its previous close at 1,472.3.
In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.06 point to 106.71.
The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 2.3 basis points to 2.573%, while the benchmark 10-year yield was flat at 2.871%.
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