South Korean shares set to post weekly loss on hawkish Fed
KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers
Korean won weakens against dollar
South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
SEOUL, Dec 20 (Reuters) -Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares fell for a second straight session on Friday and were set to end the week lower after the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated a slower pace of cuts in interest rates.
** The won weakened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 was down 32.33 points, or 1.33%, at 2,403.60 as of 0328 GMT, after a drop of 2% on Thursday.
** For the week, the index was down 3.6%, set to post its worst weekly performance since mid-November.
** The U.S. economy grew faster than previously estimated in the third quarter, driven by robust consumer spending, data showed on Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve projected only two rate reductions in 2025, citing the economy's continued resilience and still-high inflation.
** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS fell 1.51% and peer SK Hynix 000660.KS lost 3.43%, while battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS slid 1.34%.
** Hyundai Motor 005380.KS shed 1.89% and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS lost 0.40%, while search engine Naver 035420.KS and instant messenger Kakao 035720.KS were up 0.24% and down 0.85%, respectively.
** Of the total 938 traded issues, 162 shares advanced, while 737 declined.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 516.6 billion won ($356.3 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,449.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.12% lower than its previous close at 1,447.3.
** South Korea's financial authorities said on Friday they would loosen foreign exchange regulations to improve liquidity conditions in the currency market, as the won traded at a 15-year low.
** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 fell 0.10 point to 106.75.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR rose by 0.8 basis points to 2.614%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR advanced by 4.2 basis points to 2.849%.
($1 = 1,449.8700 won)
Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sonia Cheema
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