Shares expected to be rangebound this week

South Korea’s stock market is expected to remain in a tight range this week as investors wait on the U.S. fiscal cliff issue, analysts said.

The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, gained 21.57 points, or 1.27 percent, last week to close at 1,932.90 on Friday, on hopes that U.S. lawmakers and President Barack Obama will find a compromise on the U.S. fiscal issue.

“Until the issue is addressed, investors will remain cautious on betting, and be engaged in trading and just be on the lookout for undervalued shares,” said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at Daewoo Securities.

This week is packed with a series of economic data coming from the U.S., including an index of Institute for Supply Management showed the health of the manufacturing segment, which will provide a glimpse into the U.S. economy’s fundamentals, according to the analysts. (Yonhap News)