▲ An employee works at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 16th, as the KOSPI continues its upward trend and closes in the low 8,700 range.
The won-dollar exchange rate remained near a slight upward trend due to a recovery in risk-on sentiment and net buying by foreign investors, despite differences in perception regarding transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz.
Today (the 16th), the daytime closing price of the won against the U.S. dollar in the Seoul foreign exchange market (as of 3:30 p.m.) was 1,511.6 won, up 0.5 won from the previous trading day.
The exchange rate opened at 1,513.6 won, up 2.5 won, and climbed to as high as 1,517.6 won in early trading.
Risk-on sentiment recovered following the end-of-war agreement between the U.S. and Iran yesterday, and foreign net buying in the domestic stock market continued.
However, the exchange rate did not fall to the previous day's low (1,503.9 won) and maintained a level above 1,511 won.
This is because matters concerning Iran's nuclear program and sanctions against Iran were deferred to the next stage of negotiations, and differences in perception between the U.S. and Iran regarding transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz remain, making it difficult to conclude that uncertainty in the Middle East has been completely resolved.
As of 3:30 p.m., the dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against six major currencies, was 99.762, up 0.093 from the reference price at the same time the previous day.
In the KOSPI market today, the index closed at 8,726.60, up 2.11% from the previous trading day.
Foreign investors bought 1.5374 trillion won worth of domestic stocks, marking their third consecutive trading day of net buying.
The Bank of Japan raised its benchmark short-term policy interest rate from "around 0.75%" to "around 1%."
This is the highest level in about 31 years since 1995.
As the move was expected, the yen-dollar exchange rate did not show significant changes.
As of 3:30 p.m., the yen-dollar exchange rate was 160.244, down 0.03% from the previous day, and the won-yen cross rate was 943.40 won per 100 yen, down 0.3 won from the reference price at the same time the previous trading day.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.