Korean shares extend losses in late morning trading

South Korean shares extended losses late Monday morning as foreigners dumped more local stocks on profit-taking. The won traded higher against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 4.02 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,354.35 as of 11:20 a.m.Foreigners sold a net 42 billion won ($37 million) worth of stocks. Institutions also offloaded 26 billion won worth of shares, to weigh down the main index. A strong rally in the KOSPI index is not expected this week as investor

Aug. 21, 2017

Stocks open lower on US losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday tracking with foreigners turning net sellers on profit taking. The won rose against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.40 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,355.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading.This week, investors are expected to take a wait-and-see attitude ahead of two major events that could affect the markets.  They are the annual economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the Ulchi-Freedom Guardi

Aug. 21, 2017

Market watchers forecast geopolitical tension to persist

Questions persisted on whether South Korea‘s stock markets fully escaped from the geopolitical risks that had weighed on the monthslong record run until late July, despite the rebound seen last week. Over the past week, the Kospi rose 1.8 percent to close at 2,358.37 Friday, including 0.14 percent retreat on Friday. The main bourse index gained for three consecutive trading days until Thursday. The stock markets did not open on Tuesday for a national holiday.The recovery was mainly led by

Aug. 20, 2017

Egg scare eases off in stock markets

While the contaminated egg scare continues to grip South Korea, the stocks related to eggs have bounced back. Those that had briefly benefited from the crisis, such as vaccine makers, stopped short of its rally last week.Stocks related to eggs had seen their prices dragged down by the insecticide-contaminated eggs found on farms across the country for days, but started regaining towards the end of the week. SPC Samlip, the nation’s largest breadmaker listed on the top-tier Kospi,

Aug. 20, 2017

S&P maintains S. Korea's credit rating at AA

Global rating appraiser Standard & Poor's on Friday reaffirmed its long-term sovereign rating on South Korea at AA, with its outlook also remaining stable, despite the heightened geopolitical tensions on Korean Peninsula. solider"S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'AA' long-term sovereign credit rating" on South Korea, the agency said in its latest release. "The stable outlook on Korea reflects our expectation that geopolitical risks in the Korean peninsula will not escalate

Aug. 18, 2017

Seoul stocks fall on institutional sell-off

South Korean stocks fell Friday, hit by a sell-off by institutional investors. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index declined 3.3 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 2,358.37. Trade volume was moderate at 195 million shares worth 4.05 trillion won ($3.54 billion). The local stock market opened lower, tracking a loss on Wall Street overnight following a deadly attack in Spain and political uncertainties in the United States. "The decl

Aug. 18, 2017

Korean shares down in late morning trading

South Korean shares traded lower late Friday morning but pared part of their earlier losses on the back of net purchases by retail investors. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 8.91 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,352.76 as of 11:20 a.m.Large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 0.94 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix up 0.45 percent.Hyundai Motor rose 0.35 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors traded 0.43 percent higher. POSCO, the No. 1

Aug. 18, 2017

Seoul stocks start lower on Wall Street tumble

South Korean shares opened weak Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street overnight on a deadly attack in Spain and political uncertainties in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 17.82 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,343.85 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 1.06 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.69 percent, and No. 1 steelmaker POSCO declined 0.75 percent.The local currency wa

Aug. 18, 2017

Foreign ownership of KOSDAQ stocks hits record high

Foreign ownership of stocks traded on South Korea's secondary stock market has hit a new high, data showed Friday, as offshore investors turn to undervalued tech firms there after exiting the main bourse. As of Thursday, offshore investors held 25.98 trillion won ($22.8 billion) worth of shares traded on the KOSDAQ market for tech and smaller firms, the highest level since the market opened in 1996, according to the data from the Korea Exchange.Foreign ownership came to nearly 12 percent of the

Aug. 18, 2017

Seoul stocks up for 3rd day on foreign, retail buying

South Korean stocks marked the third day of gains Thursday, helped by foreign and retail buying. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 13.41 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 2,361.67. Trade volume was moderate at 226 million shares worth 4.42 trillion won ($3.88 billion). The local stock market opened higher, tracking gains on Wall Street overnight. Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, projected the local stock market

Aug. 17, 2017

Korean shares up in late morning trading

South Korean shares traded higher late Thursday morning on the back of gains in technology firms and steelmakers.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 11.69 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,359.95 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares continued to trade higher, with Samsung Electronics moving up 1.82 percent and LG Display advancing 2.2 percent.Chipmaker SK hynix climbed 1.36 percent.Steelmakers were also among winners, with POSCO increasing 4.08 percent and Korea Zinc moving up 4.61 percent. H

Aug. 17, 2017

Offshore stock holdings exceed W600tr

Stock holdings by offshore investors topped 600 trillion won ($526 billion) in South Korea for the first time as of July, data showed Wednesday.The foreign net buying trend, which had continued for eight consecutive months until July, lifted foreign investors’ equity holdings to 605.7 trillion won, accounting for 33.4 percent of all shares issued on the two stock markets, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service. This came in spite of the shrinking net purchases of for

Aug. 16, 2017

Financial chiefs vow to stabilize market amid NK risks

South Korea’s finance minister and fiscal policy chief on Wednesday vowed to take stern measures to stabilize the financial markets if necessary, as response to the tensions caused by North Korea’s nuclear provocations.Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon and Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol attended a luncheon, seeking cooperation amid the challenging economic situations.“(The government), together with the BOK, will keep a close watc

Aug. 16, 2017

Seoul stocks up for 2nd day on retail buying

South Korean stocks closed higher Wednesday, led by retail investors buying into the market, as tension between the United States and North Korea shows signs of easing. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 14.04 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 2,348.26. Trade volume was moderate at 265 million shares worth 6.08 trillion won ($5.32 billion). The local stock market opened higher on positive economic data from the US and an easing of ten

Aug. 16, 2017

Korean shares up in late morning trading

South Korean shares traded higher late Wednesday morning on positive economic data from the United States.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 13.19 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,347.41 as of 11:20 a.m.Large caps traded mixed, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics adding 2.8 percent and global chipmaker SK hynix up 2.61 percent.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker here, rose 0.35 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors traded 1.12 percent lower.POSCO, the No. 1 steelmaker,

Aug. 16, 2017

Seoul stocks start higher as N. Korea risks wane

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday as a bitter verbal war between the United States and North Korea seems to have eased. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 19.03 points, or 0.82 percent, to 2,353.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics adding 2.8 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.35 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO declined 1.23 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,134.55 won against th

Aug. 16, 2017

Foreign investors raise Korean stock holdings for 8th month

Offshore investors remained net buyers of South Korean stocks for the eighth consecutive month in July, with their stock holdings exceeding 600 trillion won ($526.4 billion) for the first time, official data showed Wednesday. Foreign investors boosted their holdings of local stocks by a net 579 billion won in July to 605.7 trillion won, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. For the first seven months of this year, offshore investors bought a net 11.4 trillion won worth of s

Aug. 16, 2017

Mortgage loans stay above July level despite tightening

Households in South Korea have still appeared to flock to mortgage loans so far this month, despite the government’s strong measures on Aug. 2 to tighten mortgage borrowing, data showed Tuesday.The average volume of household mortgage borrowings per day reached 407.1 billion won ($356.6 million) from 3,167.6 cases during Aug. 7-11, according to data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. That was larger than the daily average in July, which came to 288.5 billion won from 2,509 borr

Aug. 15, 2017

Korean stocks to undergo corrections for a few months: market experts

South Korean stocks are expected to experience some corrections over the next couple of months due to the geopolitical risks coming from North Korea and the recent bull market, local observers said Tuesday.The prediction follows the war of words between Washington and Pyongyang over the latest UN sanctions and threats by the North to fire off missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam. Observers also said that some sort of adjustment is inevitable following eight straight months of stock

Aug. 15, 2017

Stocks bounce amid US-NK saber-rattling

South Korea’s stock market indexes swung back to positive territory Monday, recovering from a bearish trend last week fueled by the United States’ verbal saber-rattling at North Korea in response to its plans to attack US territory with ballistic missiles.　The top-tier Kospi closed at 2,334.22, up 0.63 percent from Friday’s close, while the tech-heavy Kosdaq rose 0.16 percent.Foreign investors maintained the selling trend for four consecutive days on the main bourse Monday, but

Aug. 14, 2017