Markets shake off signs of tightening

South Korea‘s stock markets rebounded while sovereign bond yields fell Tuesday, despite possible monetary tightening in the United States and Korea. The benchmark indexes of Korean stock markets -- the Korea Composite Stock Price Index and Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations -- closed after rising 0.71 percent and 0.66 percent, respectively, Tuesday.The five-year treasury yield dropped to 1.865 percent from 1.917 percent Monday. Ten-year yields edged down to 2.177 percent from 2

June 13, 2017

Seoul stocks end higher despite US slump

South Korean stocks rebounded on Tuesday as institutional buyers scooped up tech shares such as market kingpin Samsung Electronics and panel maker LG Display, despite overnight Wall Street losses due to a slide in tech shares, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 16.83 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 2,347.38. Trade volume was moderate at 316 million shares worth 5.56 trillion won ($5.1 billion), with gainers far o

June 13, 2017

Dollar-won exchange volatility narrows in May

The dollar-won volatility eased in May from a month earlier in line with a more stable global financial market, central bank data showed Tuesday.The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rates averaged 0.41 percent in May, compared to 0.43 in April, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.  "The won rose against the dollar in May due to bullish local stock markets and political uncertainty in the United States," the statement said.On Friday, South Korean stocks clo

June 13, 2017

Govt. may tighten control on auto, indemnity medical insurance premiums

Insurers are likely to face difficulty in raising premiums on auto and indemnity medical insurance as the government of President Moon Jae-in is considering a plan to tighten controls on products, officials said Tuesday. The move, which appears to be aimed at easing financial burdens of low-income people, is expected to take shape as Moon appoints a new head of the Financial Services Commission, the nation's top financial regulator. Ruling party officials have raised the idea of tightening price

June 13, 2017

US rate hike unlikely to have big impact on local bond market: experts

A looming US rate hike this week appears unlikely to exert a negative impact on South Korea's bond market, experts here said Tuesday.The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a target range of 1 to 1.25 percent. In March, the Fed also raised its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point. Experts said the local bond market may become more sensitive to the rate change in the short-term, though the bond market is unlikely to suffer any m

June 13, 2017

Korean shares up late morning despite Wall Street losses

South Korean shares advanced late Tuesday morning, despite the overnight decline on Wall Street, as institutions' buying offset a selling binge by foreign and retail investors.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 11.08 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,368.87 as of 11:20 a.m.Most large caps traded mixed, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics rising 0.13 percent and global chipmaker SK hynix losing 0.17 percent. Naver, the operator of the country's top Internet portal, added 0.11 pe

June 13, 2017

Brokerages shutter unprofitable overseas branches

South Korean securities companies have considerably reduced the number of their overseas branches over the past six years due mainly to their unprofitability, data showed Tuesday.Thirteen local brokerages had a combined 57 overseas branches as of the end of March, compared with 89 branches six years earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Financial Investment Association. Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities Co. had the most overseas branches with 14, followe

June 13, 2017

US rate hike likely to have little impact on S. Korea's bond market

An anticipated interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve is likely to have little impact on South Korean bonds because the market has already priced in the change, analysts said Tuesday. This week, the Fed is almost certain to increase its key interest rate for the third time in six months, with an additional rate hike eyed in September.  Although the Fed has tightened its monetary policy, analysts expected the Bank of Korea to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low at least till

June 13, 2017

Global equity funds log net inflow into Korea for 5th month

Global equity funds continued to post net inflows into the South Korean market last week on its recovering economy and improving corporate earnings, industry data showed Tuesday.Four international funds investing in South Korea allocated a combined $210 million for the South Korean equity market in the week to Friday, marking the fifth consecutive month of net inflow, according to the data by Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities Co. and global fund tracker Emerging Portfolio Fund Research. The global e

June 13, 2017

Seoul shares open higher despite Wall Street losses

South Korean stocks opened higher on Tuesday despite overnight Wall Street losses, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 9.33 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,163.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Monday (local time), US stocks dropped, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropping for a second straight session.Large-cap stocks on the Seoul bourse were mixed across the board. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched up 0.09 percent, and global chipmake

June 13, 2017

Seoul stocks drop 1% on Wall Street losses

South Korean stocks ended lower Monday as foreign investors and institutions cashed in recent gains following overnight Wall Street losses, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index  declined 23.82 points, or 1 percent, to close at 2,357.87. Trade volume was moderate at 324 million shares worth 5.7 trillion won ($5.3 billion), with losers far outnumbering gainers 560 to 243.Institutional investors and foreigners offloaded a net

June 12, 2017

Stocks related to Alzheimer’s withstand Kospi slide

Stocks related to Alzheimer‘s disease remained high despite a slide in the main bourse index Monday, on the back of President Moon Jae-in’s fresh policy initiative to invest some 2 trillion won ($1.78 billion) in supporting Alzheimer‘s patients. Moon last week vowed to install more state-run clinics for dementia treatment, increase personnel to look after the patients and widen medical coverage offered by the state. In South Korea, some 725,000, or 1 in 10 elderly people,

June 12, 2017

Mobile payment competition heats up

The Korean mobile payment market, currently dominated by Samsung Pay, is predicted to heat up as more rivals are considering joining the race. Samsung Electronics’ payment service Samsung Pay, which was launched in August 2015, has now garnered more than 1 million subscribers here. The tech giant is expanding the application to its smartwatch Gear S3 and low-budget smartphones, the Galaxy A and J series. Samsung Pay’s smaller local rival LG Electronics launched a similar service, LG

June 12, 2017

Korean shares retreat on Wall Street losses

South Korean shares retreated late Monday morning from the previous session, tracking an overnight decline on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 19.98 points, or 0.84 percent, to 2,361.71 as of 11:20 a.m.Most large caps traded lower, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 1.61 percent and global chipmaker SK hynix losing 1.03 percent. Naver, the operator of the country's top Internet portal, slipped 5.31 percent.Financial and steel shares, however, were in

June 12, 2017

Top 30 biz groups' retained earnings hit record high

South Korea's top 30 business groups saw their cash reserves hit an all-time high in March as they remained reluctant to invest or hire amid the country's sluggish economy, data showed Monday.The combined retained earnings of 178 listed companies affiliated with the leading family-controlled conglomerates reached 691.5 trillion won ($615 billion) as of end-March, up nearly 10 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the data from conglomerate tracker Chaebul.com.Over the past five ye

June 12, 2017

Top 10 caps take up 37% of stock market value

South Korea's 10 most valuable companies account for nearly 37 percent of the country's stock market capitalization, but the portion has inched down this year, data showed Monday.The combined market value of Samsung Electronics Co. and the nine other largest-cap firms came to 569 trillion won ($506 billion) as of last Monday, up 14.7 percent from the end of last year, according to the data by the Korea Exchange. Over the cited period, the total market capitalization jumped 17.2 percent to 1,534

June 12, 2017

Stocks open lower on profit-taking

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors continued to take a breather amid the recent rally on the main bourse.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dipped 10.66 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,371.03 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large cap stocks were mixed across the board.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was down 1.48 percent, and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, lost 1.54 percent. Top IT service firm Naver dipped 4.17 percent.Medical and financial shares, however, star

June 12, 2017

Gap in housing prices widens among Korean cities

Housing prices in major metropolitan cities in South Korea have soared so far this month on-year, showing a stark contrast to drops in provincial regions, data showed Sunday. Busan, the second-largest city in Korea, showed an 11 percent surge in real estate prices on-year in June, the highest among cities in the nation, according to data by real estate market tracker Budongsan 114.The average apartment price per square meter in Busan reached 2.93 million won ($2,600), while the average in June l

June 11, 2017

Korea's trade surplus with US drops for 13th straight month

South Korea's trade surplus with the United States has been on a steady decline for the past 13 months amid the Seoul government's efforts to reduce the imbalance, customs data showed Sunday.A trade surplus with the world's largest economy reached $915 million last month, more than halving from $2 billion tallied a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. The monthly numbers have been falling since May last year when they backtracked 14.9 percent on-year to $1.78 bi

June 11, 2017

[Photo News] Kospi closes at a new record high

June 9, 2017