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Roundup: S. Korean shares end flat ahead of ECB meeting

Xinhua, January 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

South Korean shares closed almost unchanged Wednesday as investors refrained from stock holdings ahead of a regular policy meeting of the European Central Bank ( ECB).

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 2.92 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,921.23 at the close. Trading volume stood at 296.3 million shares worth 4.25 trillion won (3.92 billion U.S. dollars).

The KOSPI moved in a narrow range through the session, managing to end slightly higher on rising wait-and-see stance among investors ahead of the ECB meeting slated for Thursday.

The ECB is widely expected to begin purchasing government bonds, expanding its monetary stimulus to the U.S. Federal Reserve type of quantitative easing.

Market watchers said investors seems to be waiting to see whether the additional monetary stimulus would actually stimulate the sluggish European economy.

If the size of ECB's monetary stimulus is smaller than anticipated, investors may sell off stocks, experts said.

Uncertainties remained over falling oil prices and political risks in Greece as well as fourth-quarter earnings season for South Korean companies.

Local institutions dumped stocks worth 168 billion won, but foreigners raised stock holdings by 80.7 billion won after selling shares earlier in the trading.

Large-cap shares ended mixed. Top life insurer Samsung Life Insurance rose 3.6 percent, and memory chip giant SK Hynix gained 2.1 percent. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics climbed 1.7 percent, but Cheil Industries, the de-facto holding company of Samsung Group, tumbled 5.7 percent. No. 2 carmaker Kia Motors declined 3.1 percent, and search engine Naver slid 1.3 percent.

The South Korean currency finished at 1,083.4 won against the greenback, up 5.0 won from Tuesday's close.

Bond prices ended lower. Yields on the liquid three-year treasury notes rose 1.4 basis points to 2.045 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds added 1.2 basis points to 2.371 percent. Endi