Kospi carries on record run on world rally

The benchmark index of South Korea‘s main bourse continued its run into an unprecedented high for the fourth straight trading day Thursday, riding on the US market rallies after the release of the US Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at record-high at 2,342.93, rising 1.1 percent compared to Wednesday. The top-tier stock market opened a tad higher at 2,325.49 compared to record closing Wednesday at 2,317.34. The index began to hover at ar

May 25, 2017

Moon’s transition team urges FSC to find new ways to control debt

The head of President Moon Jae-in’s de facto transition team Thursday urged the Financial Services Commission to adopt a new way to curb household debt and speed up liquidation of debt-ridden firms. 　Kim Jin-pyo, chairman of the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, raised the question of the viability of the current measure to tackle what he called “persisting economic woes in the perspectives of pundits and offshore ratings agencies” in a session with the financial regul

May 25, 2017

SC Bank runs promotion for first-time asset management customers

Standard Chartered Bank Korea is holding an appreciation event until the end of May offering Shinsegae mobile gift certificates to all customers who sign up for its asset management services. The bank said that a first-time customer will be given a mobile gift card worth up to 30,000 won ($27) on all asset services that exceed 1 million won.  To qualify for the gift card event, accounts and balances must be maintained until the end of the event date. Money market funds and savings accounts

May 25, 2017

Korean shares up in late morning trade

South Korean shares traded higher late Thursday morning and are poised to close at a fresh record high, as foreign and institutional buyers scooped up market heavyweights amid upward momentum, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index sharply gained 21.88 points, or 0.94 percent, to 2,339.22 as of 11:20 a.m.Large caps on the Seoul bourse were mostly bullish, with telecom and steel shares leading the gains.Market behemoth Samsung Electronics increased 1.07 percent, and major c

May 25, 2017

Dividend payouts to foreign investors up 18.9% in 2016

Dividend payouts by South Korean listed firms to foreign investors rose 18.9 percent on year last year, data showed Thursday, in a move that could help offshore investors regain confidence in the nation's stock market. Companies whose fiscal year ends on Dec. 31 made a total of 8.79 trillion won ($7.78 billion) in dividend payments to foreign investors, according to the data by the Korea Securities Depository.  The Kospi market paid 8.64 trillion won in dividends to foreign investors, while

May 25, 2017

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 6.71 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,324.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Wednesday, US stocks rose to post a five-day winning streak on tech gains. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.4 percent to 21,012.42, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4 percent to 6,163.02.  Large caps on the Seoul bourse were mostly bullish, with teleco

May 25, 2017

Woori Bank introduces robo advisers

Woori Bank has launched an artificial intelligence-based financial adviser, or “robo adviser,” as well as robots built for customer assistance at local branches. The nation’s fourth-largest commercial bank announced Wednesday the AI-based program “Woori Robo-Alpha” will reach out to customers to offer asset management portfolios “tailored to their investment propensity,” starting Wednesday. Woori Robo-Alpha also suggests users balance investment portfoli

May 24, 2017

Kospi ceilingless for 3 consecutive days

The first-tier stock market in South Korea remained ceilingless for three consecutive days Wednesday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,317.34, up 0.24 percent compared to Tuesday closing at a record-high 2,311.74, despite losses in gains from early morning trade.Opening at 2,318.86, the Kospi peaked at 2,322.54 in about 10 minutes -- the highest in history. The index hovered at around 2,315 since late morning trade. The second-tier Korean Securities Dealers Automated Q

May 24, 2017

Seoul stocks hit fresh record high on Wall Street rally

South Korean shares extended their winning streak to a fourth day to end at a fresh record high Wednesday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 5.66 points, or 0.24 percent, to reach an all-time high of 2,317.34. Trade volume was slim at 380.45 million shares worth 5.35 trillion won ($4.8 billion), with advancers outnumbering losers 483 to 323.Institutions bought a net 75.1

May 24, 2017

Finance Ministry poised to propose W10tr supplementary budget next month

The Finance Ministry said Wednesday that the government will release a road map by the end of June on how to create jobs in the public sector, alluding to a 10 trillion won ($8.89 billion) supplementary budget proposal by President Moon Jae-in.In a report to the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, Moon’s de facto transition team, the ministry said that the government would speed up the preparation for the extra budget plan to be presented to the National Assembly by next month. 

May 24, 2017

14 offenders fined W2.4b for illegal trading of Hanmi Pharm stocks

The South Korean financial regulator has fined 14 individuals a combined 2.4 billion won ($2.1 million) for using undisclosed information to avoid losses through stock trading of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, a leading local drug firm, in September last year. The Financial Services Commission said its securities and futures commission made the decision Wednesday to impose massive fines on individuals for disrupting market order. This included the largest fine to be imposed on an individual, reaching as

May 24, 2017

Korean shares up in late morning trade

South Korean shares traded higher late Wednesday morning, set to close at a fresh record high, as individual buyers scooped up market heavyweights amid upward momentum, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 4.52 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,316.26 as of 11:20 a.m.Large caps on the Seoul bourse were largely mixed.Market behemoth Samsung Electronics remained unchanged after opening higher as investors tried to cash in recent gains. Its smaller rival LG Electronics, m

May 24, 2017

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.28 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,321.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Tuesday, US stocks rose to post a four-day winning streak.The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.21 percent, to 20,937.91 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.08 percent, to 6,138.71.  Large caps on the Seoul bourse were mostly bullish, with tech and medical sha

May 24, 2017

Koreans' overseas stock investment jumps 40% this year

South Koreans' overseas stock investment has jumped nearly 40 percent in 2017 from a year ago, data showed Wednesday, as retail investors apparently turn to foreign markets amid a domestic rally dominated by large caps.According to the data by the Korea Securities Depository, local investors' direct transactions of stocks traded overseas came to $6.32 billion as of Friday, up 39.9 percent from the same period a year earlier.The balance of foreign-traded stocks deposited at the clearing agency th

May 24, 2017

[Newsmaker] Kospi cruises past 2,300, despite foreign selling

South Korea‘s main bourse extended record-setting rallies for the second consecutive day Tuesday on robust institutional buying that offset foreign selling.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,311.74, up 0.33 percent compared to Monday, when it reached a previous all-time high at 2,304.03.The Kospi showed significant surge in the late morning trade. At around 11 a.m., the market index began to shoot up to around 2,320. The index hit intraday high of 2,326.57 in the a

May 23, 2017

BOK forecast to freeze key rate for May: poll

South Korea's central bank is tipped to hold its benchmark interest rate steady for May amid expectations of a possible US rate hike and a recovery in the local economy, a poll showed Tuesday.The survey of 200 bond market experts showed that all of the respondents forecast the Bank of Korea to freeze the key rate at its monthly rate-setting meeting slated for Thursday. The survey was taken by the Korea Financial Investment Association from May 10-15. The BOK left its policy rate unchanged at an

May 23, 2017

Household debt growth slows in Q1

Growth of South Korea’s household debt slowed in the first quarter but its total balance still remained at a high level, data by the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday. Household credit grew by 17.1 trillion won ($15.2 billion), or 11.1 percent on-year, in the first quarter, slowing in pace from a 20.6 trillion won gain in the same period a year earlier. Among the 17.1 trillion won, 8.4 trillion won loans were extended by banks, credit unions and mutual savings banks. The rest came from ins

May 23, 2017

Korean shares up in late morning trading

South Korean stocks traded higher on late Tuesday morning led by gains in top market cap Samsung Electronics and other market heavyweights.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index  climbed 16.20 points, or 0.70 percent, to 2,319.48 as of 11:20 a.m.The index remained in positive terrain after opening on an upbeat note, apparently tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. In New York on Monday (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.43 percent at 20,894.32 points

May 23, 2017

Korea to hold annual meeting with S&P

Global credit appraiser Standard & Poor's will have its annual meeting with South Korean policymakers this week to assess the nation's overall economic situation and credit status, the finance ministry said Tuesday.A delegation led by Kim Eng Tan, a senior director for Asia Pacific, will be in the country for the four-day meeting that will start on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. During the stay, the team will meet with policymakers from government agencies, inclu

May 23, 2017

Seoul shares open higher on tech shares

South Korean stocks opened higher on Tuesday, largely helped by bullish tech large caps, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 3.18 points, or 0.14 percent, to reach 2,307.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Big tech shares pushed up the market.Market behemoth Samsung Electronics gained 0.49 percent, with its smaller rival LG Electronics adding 0.61 percent to hit a record high. Top steelmaker Posco increased 0.53 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,

May 23, 2017