Kospi inches closer to 2,400 closing mark

South Korea‘s top-tier stock market resumed its record run for an eighth trading day Tuesday, with its index inching closer to a closing mark of 2,400.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,396.00, up 0.58 percent from Monday, marking its 13th all-time high this year. This came nearly two weeks after the market closed at a previous record-high of 2,395.66 on June 29, having momentarily topped 2,400 in early morning trade. About 15 minutes before the market closed

July 11, 2017

Lack of won convertibility prevents Korea’s upgrade: MSCI

The lack of convertibility of the local currency has stood in the way of South Korea’s reclassification into the Morgan Stanley Capital International’s developed market index.To Korea’s market oversight authorities, however, allowing local currency to be exchangeable offshore appears to be the least likely option out of fears of compromising stability in currency trading.MSCI Chairman Henry Fernandez has reiterated the stance Monday in Seoul that Korea, currently included in th

July 11, 2017

Korean stocks trade higher late Tuesday morning

South Korean stocks traded higher late Tuesday morning on the back of gains in technology firms and mobile carriers. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.53 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,390.63 as of 11:20 a.m. Tech shares continued to advance, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gaining 1.63 percent and LG Electronics increasing 0.99 percent.Top market cap Samsung Electronics edged up 0.08 percent.Mobile carriers were also among winners, with industry leader SK Telecom moving up 1.

July 11, 2017

Korea ranks 2nd among emerging markets in stock purchases by foreigners in H1: data

South Korea ranked second among emerging economies in the amount of stocks purchased by foreign investors during the first six months this year, market data showed Tuesday.Foreigners net bought $9 billion worth of South Korean stocks during the January-June period, the second largest only after Taiwan's $9.4 billion, according to the statistics by Yuanta Securities.India came in third with $8.5 billion, followed by Brazil at $1.4 billion, Indonesia at $1.3 billion, the Philippines at $408 millio

July 11, 2017

Stocks open higher on steel, chemicals

South Korean stocks opened higher on the back of gains from steel and chemical shares Tuesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 2.29 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,384.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top steelmaker POSCO advanced 2.17 percent, and Korea Zinc climbed 0.22 percent. Hyundai Steel added 1.79 percent.AmorePacific increased 2.31 percent, and LG Household & Health Care rose 0.98 percent. LG Chem moved up 0.34 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,148.

July 11, 2017

US job data helps remove NK tension, tapering woes out of markets

South Korea‘s stock markets modestly gained Monday helped by robust job data of the United States that replaced geopolitical tension from North Korea’s missile launch and global tapering woes.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,382.10, up 0.09 percent Monday compared to the Friday closing, on the back of institutional buying. Institutional investors showed a net purchase of 77.2 billion won ($67.2 million), offsetting net sales of offshore investors at 58.1 bi

July 10, 2017

[Monitor] Financial institutions’ profits from commission soar

Banks, insurers and card companies have charged a total of 59.9 trillion won in service fees since 2013, according to the Financial Supervisory Service in its report to the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.The banks have raised profits from the commission amounting to some 6.4 trillion won ($5.6 billion) annually. This year, the banks are expected to raise some 6.8 trillion won.The service fees charged for money transfer and using an ATM had been lowered in 2011 but they continued to rise in the

July 10, 2017

Seoul stocks close nearly flat on Q2 earnings uncertainties

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Monday as investors took a wait-and-see stance on second-quarter earnings of listed firms, although Samsung Electronics closed higher on its robust performance estimate, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 2.23 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 2,382.10. Trade volume was low at 277.3 million shares worth 4.87 trillion won ($4.23 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 583

July 10, 2017

Woori Bank to exempt transfer fee for multicultural families

Multicultural families will be able to enjoy exemptions in international wire transfer fees and discounts in currency exchange when using Woori Bank, it said Monday.  The families will be exempt from paying transfer fees – up to 25,000 won ($21.70) for outgoing wire and 10,000 won for incoming wires of over $100 -- if they submit identification and at their nearest Woori Bank branch.Also, multicultural families will be offered a narrower foreign exchange spread, by as much as 80 perce

July 10, 2017

Korean stocks trade higher late Monday morning

South Korean stocks traded higher late Monday morning as market behemoth Samsung Electronics gathered ground on the back of its robust second-quarter earnings outlook.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 4.18 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,384.05 as of 11:15 a.m. Tech shares continued to trade higher, with Samsung Electronics increasing 1.34 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix moving up 0.45 percent.Top steelmaker POSCO also advanced 0.84 percent, and Korea Zinc moved up 0.11 pe

July 10, 2017

Transactions among financial firms up 3.7% in 2016

Transactions among South Korean financial firms rose 3.7 percent in 2016 from a year earlier, the central bank said, a move that could pose a potential problem in the financial market in the event of a surge in non-performing loans.Transactions among banks and non-banking lenders came to 1,970 trillion won ($1.7 trillion) at the end of last year, up 69.9 trillion won from 2015, the Bank of Korea said in a recent report.The amount of transactions among the financial firms has been on a rise in re

July 10, 2017

Stocks open nearly flat ahead of Q2 earnings reports

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday as investors took a wait-and-see approach on local firms' second-quarter earnings reports set to be released throughout this month.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 1.42 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,318,29 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Carmakers were among major losers, with Hyundai Motor falling 1.32 percent and its sister Kia Motors backtracking 1.21 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis shed 1.43 percent.In contrast

July 10, 2017

Foreign investors boost Korean stock holdings for 7th month

Offshore investors continued to pour money into South Korean stock markets last month, remaining net buyers of local stocks for a seventh consecutive month, official data showed Monday. Foreign investors boosted their holdings of local stocks by a net 1.75 trillion won ($1.51 billion) in June to 597.7 trillion won, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.  For the first six months of this year, offshore investors bought a net 10.8 trillion won worth of shares issued by So

July 10, 2017

Top 10 conglomerates account for over half of Kospi's value

South Korea’s 10 largest business groups in market capitalization account for more than half of the total value of listings on the country’s main bourse, data showed Sunday.The 10 business groups had 907.2 trillion won ($785.8 billion) in market capitalization, accounting for 51.3 percent of the total 1,767 trillion won as of Thursday, showed data by the Korea Exchange.Among the so-called chaebol, Samsung Group with the market bellwether and its electronics arm Samsung Electronics to

July 9, 2017

Govt. mulls system to supervise banks over service charges

South Korea's financial regulator said Sunday it is considering adopting a system to supervise banks when they raise service charges.    The move is part of President Moon Jae-in's pledges to help relieve the financial burden of consumers and strengthen transparency at banks when they raise fees and charges.   In a report made to the ruling Minjoo Party, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said banks, insurers and card companies have charged a combined 27.7 trillion won (

July 9, 2017

Samsung's chief global wealth ranking rises to 45th place: report

Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee's ranking among the world's super rich rose to 45th place last week, thanks to the surge in the stock value at the conglomerate's electronic arm, a US-based financial news source said Sunday.   According to Bloomberg, Lee, who has been hospitalized since May 2014 after he suffered a heart attack, is valued to be worth $18.5 billion. The total represents an increase of $4.4 billion this year alone, the information source said.    His ranking

July 9, 2017

Seoul stocks sink 0.33% despite Samsung's upbeat earnings

South Korean stocks finished lower Friday, taking a cue from overnight falls on Wall Street, although Samsung Electronics, the top cap here, delivered a record quarterly high for the second quarter, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 7.94 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 2,379.87.Trade volume was moderate at 303 million shares worth 4.97 trillion won ($4.31 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 485 to 307.The loc

July 7, 2017

Korean stocks down late Thursday morning

South Korean stocks traded lower late Friday morning, as investors opted to cash in recent gains. Samsung, the top cap here, slid after reporting its all-time high earnings for the second quarter.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 5.30 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,382.51 as of 11:15 a.m.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics fell 0.04 percent, while SK hynix, a major chipmaker, declined 0.44 percent.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, dropped 2.57 percent.Top steelmaker POSCO gain

July 7, 2017