South Korean shares trim gains on worries over weak won

KOSPI rises, foreigners net buyers

Korean won strengthens against dollar

South Korea benchmark bond yield falls

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SEOUL, – Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares trimmed early gains to close marginally higher on Tuesday, as worries persisted over a weak won.

** The benchmark KOSPI closed up 11.72 points, or 0.30%, at 3,857.78, after rising as much as 2.61% earlier in the session.

** The KOSPI started the session higher as chipmakers tracked overnight gains in U.S. technology stocks.

** Wall Street stocks closed higher on Monday, with the Nasdaq rising more than 2%, as increased odds that the U.S. Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in December helped investors look past concerns about inflated tech valuations.

** “Investor sentiment is subdued due to foreign exchange rates, because strong foreign inflows are unlikely unless the weakness in the currency is resolved,” said Park Kwang-nam, analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. ** The Bank of Korea is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged on Thursday, as policymakers grapple with a volatile currency and an overheated housing market, according to a Reuters poll.

** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 2.69%, while peer SK Hynix lost 0.19%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.36%.

** Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were little changed. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.50%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 9.06%.

** Of the total 932 traded issues, 328 shares advanced, while 554 declined.

** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 116.0 billion won .

** The won was quoted at 1,472.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.28% higher than its previous close at 1,476.5.

** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.02 point to 105.83.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.7 basis point to 2.901%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 1.5 bps to 3.268%.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.