- The KOFEX fixed-income market showed its slight upward tendency with some fluctuations against the downward movement of the previous week.
- The USD/KRW currency futures market displayed its W-shaped movement fluctuating in an extremely narrow range.
- The KOSDAQ50 futures market continued experiencing the corrections this week following the previous week's losses.
Korea Treasury bond Futures Market
This week, the KOFEX fixed-income market showed its slight upward tendency with some fluctuations against the downward movement of the previous week.
At the KOFEX KTB futures market, the leading month contract KTB206 inched up and down within a relatively narrow range of 102.45 to 102.84 during the week and finally it reached at 102.84, up 33 ticks from the previous week's close.
The major factors behind the upward movement of the KTB futures market are as follows:
- The nose-dived fall of the Seoul stock market where the KOSPI plunged by 42.32 points or 4.6 percent during the week to reach at 875.69 points on Friday
- The decrease of US interest rate
- The yield of the US benchmark 10-yr Treasury bond decreased by 5bp from the previous weekend to reach at 5.16bp on this weekend
USD/KRW Currency Futures Market
During the week, the USD/KRW currency futures market displayed its W-shaped movement fluctuating in an extremely narrow range.
Firstly, on Monday, the current month contact USD204 decreased by KRW 2.9 to KRW 1,328.4 per USD on account of the profit takers' selling of the USD, which has kept its strength since the beginning of this year. However, on Tuesday, the USD April contract increased by KRW 2.0 to KRW 1,332.6 per USD due to the weak domestic stock market.
On Wednesday, the USD204 turned downward again losing by KRW 0.9 to KRW 1,329.4 per USD thanks to the weak USD against the JPY overnight in NY.
Finally from Thursday to Friday, the USD204 increased by KRW 2.6 per USD and eventually it reached at KRW 1,332.0 per USD. The major factor of the upward movement on the last two days of the week is due mostly to the weak local stock market. In the Seoul bourse, the net selling by foreigners recorded KRW 652.1 billion during the week, up KRW 143.0 billion from the previous week.
The average daily volume of the week posted 5,777 contracts, up 1,063 contracts or 22.6 percent compared to that of the previous week.
KOSDAQ50 Index Futures Market ,P> This week, the KOSDAQ50 futures market continued experiencing the corrections this week following the previous week's losses.
The leading month contact KQ204 lost 3.85 points or 3.21 percent during the week closing the week at 115.75 points.
The major reasons for the weakness are as follows:
- Cautious reaction of the investors to the recent steep rise
- The maturity of the KOSPI200 options on Thursday triggering selling pressure
