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This photo, taken Wednesday, shows a dealing room at Hana Bank in Seoul, with South Korea's key stock index rising 1.44 points, or 0.05 percent, to end at 2,989.39. (Yonhap) |
The US Federal Reserve's announcement of plans to accelerate the tapering of its asset purchases is expected to have a limited impact on the South Korean financial market as the outcome was in line with market expectations, a senior government official said Thursday.
After a two-day policy meeting, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday (US time) it will double the pace of tapering its bond purchases and likely end them in March. The US central bank signaled three rate hikes by the end of 2022 amid surging inflation.
US stocks rallied as the Fed's plan to accelerate the tapering largely met market expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.08 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 2.15 percent.
The outcome of the Fed's meeting is expected to have a limited impact on the Korean market as it helped ease uncertainty about the US monetary policy, according to First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon.
"But we cannot exclude the possibility that volatility in the financial market at home and abroad could increase if economic uncertainty heightens amid inflation risks and the spread of the omicron variant, coupled with China Evergrande Group's debt problems," he said.
The official said the government will closely monitor the global economic situations and monetary policy shifts by major economies, and the development of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"If needed, the government will take measures to stabilize the financial market in a preemptive and swift manner," Lee added. (Yonhap)
