Seoul shares down slightly in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.03 percent lower late Monday morning, led by losses in large-cap exporters, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.49 points to 1,944.26 as of 11:20 a.m.   Hyundai Motor lost 1.06 percent, with Korea Zinc, a local major zinc smelter slumping nearly 5 percent.   In contrast, telecom and construction firms gathered ground. No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom surged 5.12 percent and GS Engineering & Construction rose 0.9 percent.   T

May 13, 2013

Seoul shares turn higher after weak start

South Korean stocks turned higher after a weak start Monday, as further depreciation of the Japanese yen stopped short of unnerving investors, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.93 points, or 0.05 percent, to 1,945.68 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Autos and utilities lent support to reverting to gains, with Hyundai Motor rising 0.53 percent and state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power Corp. climbing 1.5 percent. Top-cap Samsung Electron

May 13, 2013

S. Korea's stock market cap edge down in 2013

Total capitalization for South Korea's stock market edged down in March from end-2012 amid the protracted economic slump, the bourse operator said Monday.The value of shares listed on the main board and the secondary market came at US$1.1 trillion last month, down 2.08 percent from the end of 2012, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said, citing data by the World Federation of Exchanges.South Korea accounted for 2.01 percent of the total global stock market cap, ranking as the world's 15th-largest bourse,

May 13, 2013

Banks’ household lending surges again

Commercial banks saw their outstanding loans extended to the household sector snowball about 1 trillion won ($909 million) in April from a month earlier, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed Sunday.After falling 3.4 trillion won in January and 1.5 trillion won in February, the combined lending balance in the banking sector started to climb again from March, when the loans increased by 100 billion won on a monthly basis.In April, the banks’ outstanding loans came to 460.6 trillion w

May 12, 2013

Individuals lose money from stock investment

Retail investors suffered losses on the South Korean stock markets this year, data showed Sunday, as the protracted economic slowdown and the weak Japanese yen continued to weigh down on Seoul shares.The returns from the top 20 listed firms most purchased by individuals on the main bourse and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market came to minus 21 percent through Friday this year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.6 percent on Frida

May 12, 2013

7 out of 10 seniors face financial difficulties

Nearly seven out of 10 elderly citizens in South Korea cannot make ends meet without having a job or receiving help from offspring, data showed Sunday, raising concerns over their quality of life.According to the data compiled by the LG Economic Research Institute, 71 percent of 2,884 elderly households surveyed had assets of less than 250 million won ($225,631), the amount needed for their post-retirement period.Elderly households refer to families of a single member or a couple aged 60-74. The

May 12, 2013

Seoul shares likely to move upwards next week

South Korean stocks are expected to gather ground next week, as the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s Thursday rate cut that kept step with the government stimulus will likely spark momentum in the market, analysts said Saturday.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,944.75 on Friday, down 1.07 percent from the previous week. Poor Chinese manufacturing data released on Monday put downward pressure on the main index, dropping it to the early 1,960 level.   The KOSPI then staye

May 11, 2013

Korea joins global currency war with surprise rate cut

The world economy is racing toward a global currency war following a flurry of benchmark rate cuts or hinted cuts by developed and developing countries to counter a prolonged economic sluggishness.Caught between a weaker yen ― which has breached 100 yen to the U.S. dollar for the first time since 2009 ― and government pressure, the Bank of Korea’s key base rate cut to 2.50 percent for May joined a list of other central bankers trying to avert further downturns through weaker currencies.Europe an

May 10, 2013

Court rules in favor of tech firm in Citibank suit

A district court on Friday ruled in favor of semiconductor testing firm iTEST Co. in a lawsuit claiming Citibank Korea reaped unfair gains from transactions with the Korean company. The Seoul Central District Court decided that the Korean operation of multinational bank Citibank did not sufficiently notify iTEST, a listed tech firm, of the high risks of KIKO, or “knock-in knock-out,” a financial derivative product that is highly susceptible to exchange rate changes. The court ordered the bank to

May 10, 2013

Seoul shares drop 1.75 pct on weak yen

South Korean stocks fell 1.75 percent Friday despite the central bank cutting its key interest rate this week as the weak yen dented investors' sentiment, analysts said.The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 34.7 points to finish at 1,944.75. Trading volume was low at 277.7 million shares worth 4.1 trillion won (US$3.74 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 560 to 248.Analysts said the decline came as the yen-dollar exchan

May 10, 2013

S. Korea busy crafting measures to deal with impact of yen's fall

South Korea is busy crafting measures to deal with the impact of the continued descent of the Japanese yen against the dollar amid worries that its exporters will likely take the brunt of such currency risks, government officials said Friday.The move comes as the yen-dollar exchange rates earlier breached the 100 mark, raising concerns that the weak yen will take its toll on the South Korean economy whose companies have to compete with Japanese rivals in many areas on the global stage. The weak

May 10, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on profit-taking

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as investors opted for profit-taking after the market closed bullish in the previous trading session following the central bank's rate cut, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 11.68 points, or 0.59 percent, to 1,967.77 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor losing 2.07 percent and market behemoth Samsung Electronics moving down 1.06 percent. Lead

May 10, 2013

Korean won gains most among 30 currencies

The Korean won has gained the most to the U.S. dollar among 30 currencies of developed and developing economies in a month, putting financial authorities on alert against further appreciation of the won, industry sources said.The won strengthened nearly 5 percent as of Wednesday with the exchange rate falling below 1,100 won on increased volatility stemming from a weak yen driven by Japan’s aggressive monetary easing. Few restrictions governing foreign exchange transactions in the country are fu

May 9, 2013

FSS monitors lenders over unfair practices

Financial regulators are set to crack down on irregular business practices committed by financial service companies to help prevent consumers from being bullied.The supervisory policy toward enhanced consumer protection comes after angry citizens recently criticized an employee of Namyang Dairy Products for verbally abusing a wholesaler in the manufacturing sector.The irregular practices in the financial sector include commercial banks allegedly demanding unreasonable conditions in loan issuance

May 9, 2013

Seoul shares spike 1.18 pct on rate cut

South Korean stocks rallied 1.18 percent Thursday as the central bank's decision to cut its key interest rate boosted investor sentiment here, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 23 points to finish at 1,975.45. Trading volume was moderate at 324.8 million shares worth 4.9 trillion won (US$4.56 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 521 to 291.   Analysts said the rise came as South Korea's central

May 9, 2013

Won gains most among global currencies in one month

The South Korean won has strengthened against the U.S. dollar at the fastest clip compared with other currencies in the last few weeks, spawning concerns over a sudden in and outflow of foreign funds, data showed Thursday. The local currency has soared 4.9 percent to the greenback in the last four weeks, closing at 1,086.50 won as of Wednesday, breaching the 1,100 won mark for the first time since Sept. 29, 2008, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK) and the Seoul foreign exchange market. The won

May 9, 2013