Seoul stocks down for 2nd day on US-Russia tensions

South Korean stocks closed sharply lower Monday, tracking a plunge on Wall Street last week amid heightening US-Russia tensions over Moscow's potential invasion of Ukraine. The Korean won sharply rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased 43.23 points, or 1.57 percent, to close at 2,704.48 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 606 million shares worth some 11.3 trillion won ($9.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 787 to 117. Reta

Feb. 14, 2022

Financial watchdog to step up crackdown on Big Tech

South Korea’s financial watchdog pledged Monday to announce its own monitoring measures for Big Tech firms’ financial services. As part of its annual plan for this year, the Financial Supervisory Service said it would prepare “Korean-type Big Tech monitoring measures to stimulate competition and innovation from Big Tech’s foray into the finance sector and to achieve financial stability and customer protection.” The purpose of the measures is to establish systemat

Feb. 14, 2022

Foreigners net sellers of Korean stocks in Jan.

Foreigners were net sellers of Korean shares in January, ending their buying spree in December last year as investor appetite soured on signals from the US Federal Reserve that it was accelerating its policy tightening measures, data showed Monday. In January, foreigners offloaded a net 1.6 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in shares, having bought 629 billion won in the benchmark Kospi market while shedding 2.3 trillion won in the junior Kosdaq. They purchased bonds of 3.6 trillion won in the same p

Feb. 14, 2022

Foreigners turn net sellers of S. Korean stocks in Jan.

Foreign investors turned net sellers of South Korean stocks in January, but their net investment in local bonds continued to expand, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 1.68 trillion won ($1.4 billion) worth of local stocks last month, compared with their net purchase of 4.36 trillion won in December, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). It represented offshore investors' first net selling of South Korean stocks in three months. Investors from the United Stat

Feb. 14, 2022

[Newsmaker] Hana eyes stronger earnings, shareholder value under new leadership

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group announced a record annual net income of 3.5 trillion won ($2.9 billion) for 2021 last week, citing successful portfolio diversification as a driving force behind the banking group’s robust profit. Exceeding market expectations, Hana’s annual net income gained 33.7 percent on-year, driven by a noteworthy increase in earnings of its nonbanking businesses, a regulatory filing showed Thursday. Brokerage arm Hana Financial Investment’s net

Feb. 13, 2022

Seoul stocks likely to fluctuate next week on US price pressure concerns

South Korean stocks are likely to fluctuate in a broad range as investors digest the high-flying inflation rates in the United States, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,747.71 points Friday, little changed from 2,750.26 points a week ago. The key stock index on Friday snapped its three-day winning streak from corporate earnings hope due largely to the highest US inflation growth in four decades, released the previous night. Analysts said the h

Feb. 12, 2022

Big 4 banking groups post record earnings on lending growth

South Korea’s top four major banking groups -- KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori -- saw their combined earnings last year hit a record high, largely buoyed by robust interest and commission income. According to their separate regulatory filings, the total net profit of the firms soared 34.5 percent on-year to 14.5 trillion ($12 billion) last year, eclipsing the previous record of 10.8 trillion won in 2020. KB Financial Group outpaced rivals in terms of net profit. Its net increased 27.6 perc

Feb. 11, 2022

Seoul stocks open steeply lower on estimate-beating US inflation data

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Friday due to the stronger-than-expected US inflation data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 27.95 points, or 1.01 percent, to trade at 2,743.98 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi dropped as the US consumer price index for January was up 7.5 percent, higher than the market consensus. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite decreased 2.1 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.47 percent. Tech st

Feb. 11, 2022

KB chairman calls for public-private cooperation to make ESG headway

The chief of South Korea’s KB Financial Group said Thursday that the adoption of environmental, social and governance values is gaining traction, and asked for cooperation between the Korean public and the private sector to make headway in the global race. “ESG values are growing around the world with irreversible speed,” KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo said in a special luncheon talk hosted by the National Assembly. “The manufacturing sector accounts for a

Feb. 10, 2022

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 10.23 points, or 0.37 percent, to trade at 2,779.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite jumped 2.08 percent on tech gains, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.86 percent. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.67 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.98 percent. I

Feb. 10, 2022

Seoul stocks up for 2nd day on earnings hope

South Korean stocks closed higher for a second day in a row on Wednesday amid hopes of strong corporate earnings. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 22.38 points, or 0.81 percent, to close at 2,768.85 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 530 million shares worth some 10.2 trillion won ($8.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 757 to 125. Institutions bought a net 197 billion won and foreigners purchased 239 b

Feb. 9, 2022

[Newsmaker] Hana Financial taps man behind successful KEB merger transition as new chief

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group has nominated Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo, who led its flagship lender’s smooth operation and business rebranding after its grueling acquisition of Korea Exchange Bank seven years ago, to be the next chairman of the banking group. On Tuesday, the firm’s chairman nomination committee tapped Ham as the sole nominee for the position, citing his performance in generating profit and bolstering stability in business. Ham has also shown “extra

Feb. 9, 2022

Hana Financial taps vice chief as new chairman

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group has nominated Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo to be the next chairman of the banking group. On Tuesday, firm’s chairman nomination committee tapped Ham as the sole nominee for the position, citing his performance in generating profit and bolstering stability in business. Ham has also shown “extraordinary leadership” in managing the group and is expected to lead Hana into the future with digital transformation, the committee said in a statem

Feb. 8, 2022

Seoul stocks end nearly flat on US-China tensions

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Tuesday, paring most earlier gains, in the face of elevating trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged up 1.41 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 2,746.47 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 555 million shares worth some 11.6 trillion won ($9.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 544 to 313. Foreigners sold a net 97 b

Feb. 8, 2022

Seoul stocks snap 3-day winning streak on profit-taking

South Korean stocks ended their three-day winning streak on Monday, largely as investors attempted to cash in profits from recent stock rallies. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 5.2 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 2,745.06 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 410 million shares worth some 11.1 trillion won ($9.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 467 to 385. Institutions sold a net 834 billion

Feb. 7, 2022

As Kospi rally nears end, money moves to safer options

Korean investors are pulling out money from their investment accounts to reallocate it to safer options such as money market funds as they seek to ride out volatility gripping the local stock market, data showed Sunday. As of Thursday, credit-backed loans for stock investments stood at 21 trillion won ($17.5 billion), down about 4 trillion won from a record high of 25 trillion won in September last year. Since then, the deposit borrowed from brokerages on investors’ credit has been shri

Feb. 7, 2022

Stock assets of chaebol leaders hit hard by Kospi loss

The nation’s top chaebol leaders saw their stock assets fall sharply in January, as the nation’s benchmark Kospi entered a bear market, while some firms grappling with controversies also took a beating. The total value of stocks owned by the nation’s top 33 chaebol owners was estimated at 55.43 trillion won ($46.19 billion) in January, down 13.8 percent from a month ago, according to data from market tracker Korea CXO Institute Monday. Hyundai Development Co. Chairman Chung

Feb. 7, 2022

Woori taps senior deputy chief to lead flagship bank

South Korea’s Woori Financial Group said Monday it has nominated Senior Deputy President Lee Won-duk to lead its flagship commercial bank. The firm’s CEO recommendation committee last month had shortlisted three candidates for the position -- Lee, Park Hwa-jae, deputy president of Woori Bank‘s credit support unit and Jeon Sang-wook, deputy president of the bank’s risk management unit. Lee was tapped due to his “broad understanding” of the group’s core

Feb. 7, 2022

Record high of W20tr money flowed into IPO last year: data

The market saw a record high of 19.7 trillion won ($16.4 billion) flowing in to initial public offering deals last year, a 333.9 percent increase on-year from 4.5 trillion won the previous year, data from the nation’s financial watchdog showed Monday. Buoyed by the surge in local stock prices and ample liquidity, the number of firms that debuted on the market last year increased 27.1 percent to 89, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. Of the firms, 14 debuted on the main bour

Feb. 7, 2022

Money raised through IPOs hits record high in 2021 amid ample liquidity, bullish sentiment

The amount of money South Korean firms raised through initial public offerings (IPOs) more than quadrupled to hit a record high last year thanks to ample liquidity and the overall bullish stock market sentiment, data showed Monday. A total of 89 companies went public in 2021 by listing stocks on the benchmark KOSPI and secondary tech-heavy KOSDAQ markets and raised a combined 19.7 trillion won ($16.4 billion), according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The money raised from

Feb. 7, 2022