Seoul shares open lower on US losses

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Thursday, tracking their US peers that ended bearish amid intensifying political turmoil surrounding President Donald Trump's alleged interference with a federal investigation, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 11.18 points, or 0.49 percent, to trade at 2,281.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US S&P 100 index marked its biggest fall in months Wednesday (local time), as investors opted for selling o

May 18, 2017

Seoul shares down 0.1% on lack of momentum

South Korean stocks inched down Wednesday as there was no fresh lead to drive the market following a recent rally, analysts said. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 2.25 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 2,293.08. Trading volume was moderate at 390.4 million shares worth 5.62 trillion won ($5.02 billion), with decliners outstripping gainers 416 to 372. "The recent rally was largely driven by domestic-focused issues, whi

May 17, 2017

K-Bank meets 76% of deposit target in 45 days

K-Bank, South Korea's first Internet-only bank, said Wednesday it has achieved 76 percent of its full-year target of attracting deposits just 45 days after launching operations. K-Bank, which was launched on April 3, has attracted 380 billion won ($339.2 million) in deposits, compared with this year's target of 500 billion won. K-Bank has also made loans worth 310 billion won, compared with this year's target of 400 billion won, the bank said.  The pace of growth in K-Bank's deposits and lo

May 17, 2017

Citibank Korea to turn 300 contract positions permanent

Some 300 contract employees of Citibank Korea will unconditionally become full-time within 2017, the bank said Tuesday. The benefiting employees are office clerks and bank tellers, currently under unlimited term contracts. Previously, each year the Korean unit of the New York-based bank converted the contract employees into permanent positions through a set of screening processes, which accounted for one-fifth of the newly employed full-timers.The bank, however, has not determined the exact date

May 17, 2017

Banks' daily FX turnover up 11.9% in Q1

The daily foreign exchange turnover by local and foreign banks in South Korea rose 11.9 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, the central bank said Wednesday.The daily FX turnover averaged $49.98 billion in the January to March period, compared to the previous quarter's $44.66 billion, according to the Bank of Korea. The daily trading volume of foreign exchange spots reached $19.41 billion in the first quarter, up 11.8 percent from the previous quarter.By currency type, the dai

May 17, 2017

Seoul shares down 0.14% in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.14 percent lower late Wednesday morning, led by losses in brokerage and utility firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 3.25 points to 2,292.08 as of 11:20 a.m. NH Investment & Securities, a leading brokerage house here, dropped 1.8 percent, with state-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. falling 1.7 percent.But large-cap tech and auto companies edged up. Top-cap Samsung Electronics added about 0.08 percent and leading

May 17, 2017

Credit card spending soars 13.7% in March

South Korea's credit card spending jumped nearly 14 percent in March from a year ago on higher oil prices and a rise in the number of outbound travelers, data showed Wednesday.Credit card purchases totaled 66.4 trillion won ($59.5 billion) in March, up 13.7 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to the data from the Credit Finance Association. The surge was attributed largely to increased consumer prices, including oil costs, and higher demand for South Koreans' overseas trips.&qu

May 17, 2017

Foreign investors remain net buyers of local stocks for 5th month

Foreign investors remained net buyers of South Korean stocks for the fifth consecutive month in April, government data showed Wednesday. Offshore investors bought a net 1.26 trillion won ($1.12 billion) worth of South Korean stocks last month, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.   Boosted by foreign buying and healthier corporate earnings, South Korea's main stock index has rallied in recent sessions. In comparison, foreign investors bought a net 3.29 trillion w

May 17, 2017

Seoul shares open lower on steelmaker, insurer losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, driven by a fall in major steelmakers and insurance companies, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index was down 6.01 points, or 0.26 percent, to trade at 2,289.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top steelmaker Posco slipped 1.3 percent and No. 1 insurer Samsung Life Insurance lost 1.7 percent. But shares of tech blue-chips moved upward. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.17 percent, with smaller rival LG Elect

May 17, 2017

Moody’s maintains negative outlook on Korean banks

Credit ratings agency Moody’s maintained a negative outlook on the South Korean banking industry, citing worsening business environment amid weak domestic consumer sentiment and banks’ asset quality.Sophia Lee, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s, said in a report that the change in administration under President Moon Jae-in brings uncertainty around policy direction on household debt and corporate restructuring, which weighs on the banks’ operating enviro

May 16, 2017

Optimism abounds for Kospi rally

Expectations of strong policy drives by President Moon Jae-in are leading to forecasts of a further Kospi rally and a stronger local currency, offsetting rising worries about geopolitical risks.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index extended rallies for two days, even after North Korea fired a ballistic missile Sunday. The Kospi closed at 2,295.33, up 0.2 percent Tuesday, despite the loss of earlier gains in morning trade that pushed the index above 2,300.The local currency also strengt

May 16, 2017

FSS disciplines stock brokers for illegal short-selling

The Financial Supervisory Service issued last Thursday a disciplinary warning on stock brokers for short selling using insider information, the regulator said Monday.The FSS said a team of stock traders from SK Securities had failed to avoid conflicts of interest and used unpublished information obtained on duty, both considered breaches of law. It issued cautionary discipline and ordered the securities firm to take autonomous action on the traders.The traders allegedly short sold stocks after a

May 16, 2017

[Photo News] Sejong expects to see a real estate boon

May 16, 2017

BNP Paribas, Deutsche fined for FX collusion

South Korea’s anti-trust watchdog said it has fined France’s BNP Paribas and Germany’s Deutsche Bank a combined 176 million won ($157,000) for colluding on foreign exchange forward bids.The Fair Trade Commission said officials at the two bank’s Seoul branches colluded on prices of foreign exchange forwards, prior to 44 rounds of bidding worth $224 million for two local companies from April to July in 2011. The FTC did not reveal the names of the two local firms. The two E

May 16, 2017

MBK Partners reduces stake in Coway

Korea’s major private equity firm MBK Partners has sold 5 percent stake in Coway, the nation’s largest water purifier maker and rental firm by market share, in the form of a block deal, news reports said Tuesday.A block deal refers to a trade of massive shares at an arranged price between the seller and buyers, often institutional investors, outside the open market to reduce the impact on the price of the targeted shares. The buyout fund sold the shares to major institutional investo

May 16, 2017

Korea's money supply up 6.2% in March: BOK

The money supply in South Korea jumped 6.2 percent in March from a year earlier, the central bank said Tuesday. The nation's "M2" totaled 2,436.9 trillion won ($2.1 trillion) in March, compared with 2,294.5 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.Month-on-month, the money supply gained 0.8 percent, the statement said.M2 is a measure of the money supply counting the currency in circulation, including bank debentures and deposits with a maturity of less than tw

May 16, 2017

Banks' foreign currency deposits fall in April

Foreign currency deposits held by banks operating in South Korea fell in April as exporters reduced their deposits of dollar-denominated earnings, central bank data showed Tuesday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local banks, domestic and foreign, reached $67.39 billion in April, down from 70.54 billion a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.  Broken down, foreign currency deposits held by domestic lenders came to $57.98 billion in April, down from $60.33 billio

May 16, 2017

Seoul shares tad down on bearish retailers, pharmaceuticals

South Korean stocks inched down after a strong start late Tuesday morning, as shares of key retailers and pharmaceutical companies widened losses, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 0.9 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,289.75 as of 11:20 a.m. Lotte Shopping, which runs the department store and hypermarket chain units of Lotte Group, the country's fifth-largest conglomerate, fell 1.3 percent. Another leading retailer Shinsegae also slid 1.8 percent. Pharmaceutica

May 16, 2017

Korean bourse emerges as top performer worldwide

The South Korean stock market has emerged as the best performer in the world over the past month on the back of strong foreign buying, data showed Tuesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,286.02 Friday, up 7.4 percent from a month earlier and the highest rise among bourses in major advanced and emerging markets, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Center for International Finance. Japan's Nikkei 225 came next with a 7.2 percent increase over the c

May 16, 2017

Seoul shares open higher on tech blue chips

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, buoyed by bullish tech large caps, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 13.38 points, or 0.58 percent, to trade at 2,304.03 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics gained more than 1 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix advancing nearly 2 percent. Brokerage firms also gathered ground, led by an around 2 percent gain by Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities. On the other hand, domesti

May 16, 2017