Won hits 4-month high to dollar on stock rally

SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean currency jumped to a four-month high
against the U.S. dollar Thursday as investors' appetite for riskier assets
revived, sending the key stock index sharply higher, dealers said.
The local currency closed at 1,282 won to the greenback, up 58.7 won, or 4.58
percent, from the previous session and the highest level since Dec. 30.
The daily gain marked the largest since Oct. 30 when the Korean unit gained 177
won, propelled by the country's US$30 billion currency swap deal with the United
States.
"Amid the globally weak dollar, the won's strength came as the Seoul bourse got a
boost from massive foreign buying," said Jeon Seung-ji, a currency analyst at
Samsung Futures Inc. "Once the 1,300-won level was broken, market players dumped
the dollar to cut losses, pushing the won's value higher."
The Korean currency jumped to an intra-day high of 1,280.5 won at one point as
exporters and offshore investors massively unloaded the greenback. The Korean
unit rose to the 1,200-won level for the first time in about four months.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 2.31 percent to
1,369.36. Foreign investors snapped up a net 569.8 billion won ($441.7 million)
worth of local stocks on the main bourse.
The country's improving trade balance is also helping stabilize the local
currency market, prompting more dollars to enter the export-driven country. In
March, South Korea posted a record current account surplus of $6.65 billion as
imports declined more sharply than exports and is likely to see another surplus
for April, according to the Bank of Korea.
Analysts say the won's additional gain will hinge on whether the global stock
market can sustain its recent gains.
"Whether the won gains further ground next week will depend on how smoothly
events like the result of stress-tests on 19 U.S. banks will unfold," Jeon said.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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