- This week, the KOSDAQ50 Index futures market continued to stay on the downward track as it had during the previous week.
- After the surprising, albeit slight, strength during the previous week, the Korea Treasury bond futures market got back to take the downward track again this week.
- The USD/KRW F/X futures market continued its weakness moving in a band of KRW 1,328 to KRW 1,331.3 per USD.
KOSDAQ50 Index Futures Market
This week, the KOSDAQ50 Index futures market continued to stay on the downward track as it had during the previous week. The lead month contact KQ206 lost 6.7 points or 5.3 percent during the week to close the week at 119.60 points on Thursday. And also the cash KOSDAQ Comp Index decreased 4.53 points or 4.8 percent during the week finishing the week at 88.20 points as well.
The major reasons for the continued descent of the Index market are as follows:
- The plunge of the NASDAQ market
- The NASDAQ Comp Index plunged by 55.6 points or 3.01 percent from Monday to Thursday reaching at 1,789.75 points on Thursday
- Filing of a series of prosecutions by the Public Prosecutor's Office against the several KOSDAQ-listed companies for the market manipulation
Due to these market friendly factors for the Korea's main stock market, the KOSPI broke the 900-point level for the first time in two years this week reaching at 918.01 points on Thursday.
Korea Treasury bond Futures Market
After the surprising, albeit slight, strength during the previous week, the Korea Treasury bond futures market got back to take the downward track again this week.
The lead month contract KTB206 decreased by 64 ticks reaching at 102.51 on Thursday. More significantly, the June KTB futures contract slid four days in a row.
The major factors behind the downward trend in the KTB futures market are as follows:
- The growing possibility of the interest rate hike by the newly appointed BOK governor mentioning that the monetary policy focus may shift from a current growth-oriented stance to a stability-oriented one
- The wary of the rising oil price stemmed from the on-going unstable Middle East situation
- The slowdown of the decline of export result in March and the growing expectation for a complete economic recovery
USD/KRW Currency Futures Market
During the week, the USD/KRW F/X futures market continued the weakness moving in a band of KRW 1,328 to KRW 1,331.3 per USD and finally it reached at KRW 1,331.3 per USD on Thursday.
At the same time, most of the USD/KRW currency contracts in the NDF market also showed the similar slight upward trend.
The major reasons for the continued Korean Won's weakness are as follows:
- The great amount of net selling by foreign investors summing up to KRW 509.1 billion in KSE only when the KOSPI broke the 900-point level for the first time in two years thanks to the aggressive stock purchasing by the institutional and individual investors totaling up KRW 541.5 billion combined
- A rise of oil price due to the unstable Middle East
