(Updates to midday)
SEOUL, March 12 (Reuters) - The South Korean won KRW= slid
against the dollar on Thursday as investors expected dollar
demand to rise after Philips Electronics sold its entire stake in
LG Display.
Investors showed a muted reaction to the South Korean central
bank's decision to hold interest rates as it is still expected to
cut rates further to revive Asia's fourth-largest economy.
[ID:nSEO72109]
The won was quoted at 1,487.9/9.1 per dollar as of 0325 GMT,
compared with Wednesday's domestic close KRW=KFTC of 1,471.0.
"Dollar bids (related to Philips) put pressure on the won
while investors regarded its recent rally as excessive," said a
local bank dealer.
The local currency jumped 9 percent over the previous three
sessions.
Philips Electronics (PHG.AS) said it had unloaded the stake
in South Korea's LG Display (034220.KS) for 630 million euros
($809.1 million) as the Dutch company moves away from cyclical
businesses and into steadier areas. [ID:nLB482485]
But the sale was unlikely to impact the currency market
further as many of the foreign exchange transactions linked to it
had been completed, traders said.
Seoul shares fell 0.88 percent as foreign investors
sold a net 121.9 billion won worth of stocks in the country's
main exchange.
0325 GMT 0025 GMT prev close
Won KRW= 1,487.9/9.1 1,484.0/5.1 1,471.0
Yen/won JPYKRW=R 15.4443/15 15.2853/57 14.9325/72
KOSPI 1,117.63 1,129.81 1,127.51
($1=.7786 Euro)
(Reporting by Cheon Jong-woo and Lee Kyoung-ho; Editing by
Jonathan Hopfner)
