South Korean Won Falls Against Dollar And Yen

During early Asian deals on Tuesday, the South Korean won edged down against its U.S. and Japanese counterparts as a fall in regional stock prices reduced demand for the currency.

The South Korean stock market is trading weak today with investors pressing some heavy sales in front line stocks following reports North Korea launched five short-range missiles and is likely to fire more.

Bank, oil, steel and shipbuilding stocks have declined sharply, while automobile and technology stocks are exhibiting a mixed trend.

The benchmark KOSPI index, which fell to 1,614.4, is currently trading at 1,632, down 7.12 points, or 0.43%, from its previous close.

Against the US dollar, the South Korean won edged down during early Asian deals on Tuesday. At 11:05 pm ET, the won touched a low of 1169.95 against the dollar, compared to 1168.00 hit late New York Monday. The next downside target level for the South Korean currency is seen around 1183.6.

The South Korean currency lost ground after hitting a high of 12.9740 against the Japanese yen during Tuesday's early Asian deals. At 11:05 pm ET, the won slipped to 13.0310 against the yen with 13.34 seen as the next support level. The yen-won pair closed Monday's North American session at 12.9980.

According to data released by Bank of Japan, the benchmark measure of money supply, M2, rose 3% year on year to a daily average of 757.8 trillion yen in September. M3 was up 2.2% in the same period.

The Bank of Japan began its two-day monetary policy meeting today and will announce its decision on interest rates at its conclusion tomorrow. Analysts expect the bank to keep rates on hold at the record low 0.10 percent, although investors will be looking for clues as to how soon the bank may raise rates - especially after Australia hiked rates in a surprise move last week.