Published : Dec. 18, 2021 - 11:04
A foreign currency dealer in Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul walks past an electronic board that shows closing marks of South Korea's main bourse Kospi and dollar-to-won currency exchange rate on Friday. (Yonhap)
South Korean stocks are expected to gain momentum next week, as investor sentiment will be buoyed by eased uncertainty about the US monetary policy, analysts said Saturday.
The benchmark Kospi closed at 3,017.73 points Friday, little changed from 3,010.23 points a week ago.
The key stock index retreated on Monday and Tuesday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting.
But local stocks rebounded for three straight sessions to Friday, as the outcome of the Fed's meeting was largely in line with market expectations.
After a two-day policy meeting, the Fed announced plans to double the pace of its bond purchases and signaled at three rate hikes next year.
Analysts also expected the supply-chain bottleneck, a key economic fallout from the pandemic, would likely ease down the road.
"If the US decides not to impose further lockdowns in production and transport against the spread of the omicron variant, the supply chain bottleneck is likely to eventually ease down and corporate earnings will rise," said NH Investment & Securities analyst Kim Byung-yeon.
Analysts said the Kospi's performance is likely to pick up once the supply bottleneck eases.
Next week, South Korea's finance ministry plans to unveil its 2022 economic policy directions. The country's data on exports and imports in the first 20 days of December will be released Tuesday. (Yonhap)