Korean stocks close nearly flat, won sinks
MarketsApr 3, 2020
South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Friday as a recovery in global oil prices boosted investor sentiment against the new coronavirus pandemic. The local currency dropped against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.58 point, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,725.44. Trading volume was high at some 986 million shares worth a little over 1 trillion won ($811 million), with gainers outnumbering losers 506 to 328. The index got off to
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Korea’s FX reserves sharply drop in MarchMoneyApr 3, 2020South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves last month posted the sharpest drop in over a decade due to the government’s intervention in the foreign exchange market and the strengthened US dollar value, the central bank said Friday. As of the end of March, the nation’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $400.21 billion, down $8.96 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. It fell by the largest margin since November in 2008 when the global financial crisis wa -
S. Korea to dole out relief cash fund based on health insuranceEconomyApr 3, 2020Government to provide W1m to bottom 70 percent by income, prompts criticism by alienating foreigners in the benefits
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ADB trims S. Korea's growth outlook for 2020 amid virus pandemicEconomyApr 3, 2020The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday slashed its outlook for South Korea's economic growth for 2020 by 1 percentage point to 1.3 percent amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The ADB's latest downward revision hovers far below the 2020 growth outlook suggested by the Bank of Korea, which expects Asia's No. 4 economy to expand 2.1 percent this year, with a possibility of a further cut. The Manila-based lender had slashed South Korea's growth outlook by 0.1 percentage point in December. The -
S. Korea speeds up supply of filters to boost mask productionEconomyApr 3, 2020South Korea said Friday it will supply around 10 tons of filters to mask producers to boost production of protective masks, which are in short supply due to the coronavirus pandemic. The filters, which will be enough to make at least 7 million protective masks, will be sent to 14 local mask producers, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea has imported 4.5 tons of filters, while another 5.7 tons have been produced by Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc., an affilia -
S&P puts Hyundai on negative watchlist amid virus pandemicMarketsApr 2, 2020S&P Global Ratings on Thursday placed Hyundai Motor Group on its watchlist of firms with a negative outlook, citing the impact of the new coronavirus pandemic on the global automobile industry. "The COVID-19 pandemic is causing production suspensions and weakening demand in the global auto industry, which was already facing slowing demand in 2019," S&P said in a report as it placed the South Korean auto giant on "CreditWatch with negative implications," hinting its r -
Deal shows virus-hit airlines can sell debt but cost steepMoneyApr 2, 2020A bond deal by South Korea’s biggest airline showed that while carriers pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic can still sell debt, they will need to pay a steep price. The fee Korean Air Lines paid underwriters to issue won notes jumped to a record 1.157percent, four times what it was charged in a similar deal in September. And an unusually numerous 15 sales managers took part in the offering this week of 600 billion won ($490 million) of debt backed by sales of future passenger tickets, a -
S. Korea starts 1st quantitative easing operationEconomyApr 2, 2020BOK supplies W5.2tr in first round of ‘unlimited’ repo operations bid -
Korea's proposed M&As shrink to half in Q1MoneyApr 2, 2020The volume of proposed mergers and acquisitions in South Korea has shrunk to about half in the first quarter of 2020, reflecting the impact of the novel coronavirus, data showed Thursday. The first quarter saw 5.23 trillion won ($4.22 billion) worth of deals announced, falling 50.6 percent on-year, according to a league table by news outlet thebell. This comes as the coronavirus pandemic is causing delays in reaching agreements between parties due to market uncertainties. Major deals annou -
BlackRock offloads W130b stake in NCSoftMoneyApr 2, 2020US investment house BlackRock Fund Advisors has offloaded its 1.01 percent stake in South Korea’s game software developer NCSoft to cash out 129.57 billion won ($105.1 million), a filing showed Thursday. As a result, BlackRock Fund Advisors and its 13 specially related parties hold 6.05 percent voting rights in the company as of March 25 as a nonengagement shareholder. NCsoft share price rose 6.15 percent. The investor said its transactions from September to March were “meant to se -
KRX to ditch 30% cap on index weightingMarketsApr 2, 2020The Korea Exchange (KRX) said Thursday it has decided not to implement a new rule meant to prevent major indices from dominant influence of a single stock. The stock market operator previously considered applying the so-called “30 percent cap” rule on market bellwether Samsung Electronics by June, as its weight on Kospi 200 increased to 33.5 percent as of Jan. 20 from 29.8 percent of Dec. 2. “The purpose of applying the rule was to comply with regulations. Due to the revisio -
Core inflation hits 20-year low amid stalled market sentimentEconomyApr 2, 2020Service, car prices dwindle while food prices surge amid quarantine -
Temasek sells Celltrion stake in block dealMarketsApr 2, 2020Ion Investments, an affiliate of Singaporean investment firm Temasek Holdings, sold millions of shares of Korean biosimilar giant Celltrion and its distribution affiliate Celltrion Healthcare in a block deal before markets opened, according to news reports Thursday. The Singapore-based investment firm sold 2.57 million shares, or 1.9 percent, of Celltrion, and 2.21 million shares, or 1.5 percent, of Celltrion Healthcare via the block trading deal. The stock price of Celltrion fell 8.08 perc -
Net asset values of funds dive in MarchMarketsApr 2, 2020Investment funds in South Korea posted a sharp valuation fall in March over fears of the novel coronavirus, marking the largest decline so far, data showed Thursday. The combined net asset value of public offering and private placement funds, excluding private equity funds that entail management involvement in companies, sank to 646.19 trillion won ($520.74 billion) as of end-March, down 45.66 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association. The t
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