Seoul stocks shrug off Fed hike, but won weakens sharply
Seoul stocks held largely steady Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in more than three years, as the move was largely anticipated and already priced into the market. The Korean won, however, weakened sharply against the dollar as the widening Korea-U.S. interest rate gap and the prospect of further Fed tightening boosted demand for…
The Korean stock market maintained relative stability on Thursday, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to increase its benchmark interest rate for the first time in over three years. The move was largely anticipated and had already been reflected in market prices. Meanwhile, the Korean won experienced a sharp decline against the U.S. dollar, as the widening gap in interest rates between the two countries and the expectation of more rate hikes from the Fed drove demand for dollars.
The Federal Reserve increased its key rate by 0.25 percentage points, raising it to a range of 3.75% to 4%. In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the local currency depreciated by 13.6 won, closing at 1,382.2 won per dollar – marking its lowest point in three weeks. Analyst Moon Da-woon of Korea Investment & Securities attributed this to the Fed's rate hike combined with persistently high international oil prices, which are putting upward pressure on the dollar.
"Upward pressure on the won-dollar exchange rate is likely to continue until the U.S. midterm elections in early November," he noted. The benchmark KOSPI index opened 0.91% higher at 6,779.02 and remained largely positive throughout the day.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
- Seoul stocks shrug off Fed hike, but won weakens sharply koreatimes.co.kr
