Seoul shares spike over 1% on foreign buying binge

South Korean stocks rose more than 1 percent higher for the second straight session Monday on the back of a foreign buying spree. The local currency slightly increased against the US greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 31.5 points, or 1.19 percent, to close at 2,680.26, following a 1.34 percent jump Friday. Trade volume was slim at 413.7 million shares worth 9.6 trillion won ($7.2 billion), with gainers beating decliners 617 to 261. Foreigners were net buyers with 60

Feb. 19, 2024

Seoul’s office rent shoots up in 2023: report

Office lease prices in Seoul marked a record-high increase last year backed by strong demand amid low vacancies, a report released by a real estate analytics firm showed Monday. Seoul's office lease market has been showing a strong performance, with rent rates being pushed up, a CBRE Korea report showed. The average face rent for Seoul offices posted the sharpest on-year growth of 8.8 percent in 2023, up 2.1 percentage points from the previous year’s 6.7 percent. Face rent is the amou

Feb. 19, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on tech, auto gains

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Monday led by gains from tech and auto shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 26.98 points, or 1.02 percent, to 2,675.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.82 percent, and major chipmaker SK hynix added 0.07 percent. Kia, the country's No. 2 carmaker, increased 1.73 percent, and its auto parts affiliate Hyundai Mobis jumped 3.25 percent. Top oil refiner SK Innovations climbe

Feb. 19, 2024

English service enhanced for electronic disclosures

The Financial Supervisory Service announced Sunday an updated plan aimed at providing foreign investors with more English information on financial disclosures, as part of efforts to facilitate foreign investment in Korean companies. The initiative to provide English services commenced in January 2023 following a decision by three of the nation’s financial organizations -- the Financial Services Commission, the FSS and the Korea Exchange. As part of this initiative, the FSS began updating

Feb. 18, 2024

Seoul shares end over 1% higher on reviving hope over Fed's rate cut

Seoul shares closed higher Friday, as investors placed their bets on a possible rate cut by the US Federal Reserve and US retail sales fell by a wider margin than expected. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Kospi added 34.96 points, or 1.34 percent, to close at 2,648.76. Trade volume was moderate at 584.7 million shares worth 10 trillion won ($7.5 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 627 to 249. Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of 558.4 billion won, w

Feb. 16, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

Seoul shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after the US retail sales fell by a wider margin than expected, reviving hopes over the Federal Reserve's rate cuts. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 15.78 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,629.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average move up 0.91 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing 0.3 percent. The rise came after the US retail sales for January fel

Feb. 16, 2024

Is shareholder activism finally taking hold in South Korea?

South Korean companies are facing increasing shareholder activism with the government's recent push for improvements in corporate governance expected to fuel the trend, according to industry experts on Thursday. A report released Thursday by Diligent Market Intelligence, a solution from governance software provider Diligent, showed a record-high number of 77 companies headquartered in Korea were targeted by activist campaigns in 2023, outnumbering its economic peers such as Singapore and Ho

Feb. 15, 2024

Seoul shares end lower on profit taking

Seoul shares closed lower Thursday as investors attempted to cash in recent gains. The Korean won gained against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.62 points, or 0.25 percent, to close at 2,613.80. Trade volume was moderate at 607.8 million shares worth 10.25 trillion won ($7.68 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 539 to 330. Foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 14.8 billion won and 49.3 billion won, respectively, while individuals purchased

Feb. 15, 2024

Korean stock market could duplicate Japan's bull run: Shinhan chief

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong believes that undervalued Korean stocks including his banking group’s shares could gain impetus with the government’s strong drive with its upcoming market revamp program aimed at creating a new investment wave. With the Korean financial authorities set to put forward detailed schemes to iron out deep-seated low valuation of Korean stocks this month, listed companies and investors are paying keen attention to what would be included in th

Feb. 15, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on US gains

Seoul shares opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 14.7 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,635.12 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the US stock market gained ground after a sharp decline the previous day sparked by hotter-than-expected inflation data. Investors have been expecting the US Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates this year amid hope for eased inflation. But January's consumer pri

Feb. 15, 2024

Seoul shares snap 3-day winning session on hotter-than-expected US inflation data

Seoul shares snapped a three-session winning streak Wednesday as hotter-than-expected US inflation data for January cooled investor sentiment. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 29.22 points, or 1.1 percent, to close at 2,620.42. Trade volume was moderate at 534.17 million shares worth 9.93 trillion won ($7.4 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 509 to 378. Institutions sold a net 535.25 billion won worth of stocks, offsetting

Feb. 14, 2024

Seoul shares open lower after US inflation data

Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday following hotter-than-estimated US inflation data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 39.58 points, or 1.49 percent, to 2,610.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4 percent to 38,272.75, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 1.8 percent to 15,655.60. Investors have been expecting the US Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates this year amid hope for eased inflation. But January's

Feb. 14, 2024

NHN net loss narrows in 2023 on lower costs

Major IT company NHN Corp. said Tuesday its net loss narrowed in 2023 from a year earlier thanks mainly to reduced costs. Net loss came to 9 billion won ($6.8 million) last year, compared with a 31.8 billion-won deficit a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose 7.3 percent on-year to 2.26 trillion won, with operating income coming to 55.5 billion won, up 42.2 percent from the previous year. NHN said its mobile games division contributed stably to 2023 sales, and it post

Feb. 13, 2024

Seoul shares up for 3rd day on rate cut hopes

Seoul shares closed higher for the third straight session Tuesday amid hopes that the US Federal Reserve will start easing due to continued disinflation. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 29.32 points, or 1.12 percent, to close at 2,649.64. Trade volume was moderate at 550.46 million shares worth 12.93 trillion won ($9.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 597 to 285. January's US consumer price index due later Tuesday is

Feb. 13, 2024

[Photo News] Bitcoin flies high

A screen shows bitcoin trading at over 67 million won ($50,459) at local crypto exchange Bithumb's headquarters in southern Seoul, Tuesday. The price of bitcoin traded above $50,000 on Monday (US time) for the first time since December 2021, according to the US-based crypto exchange Coinbase. The sharp increase is assessed to have stemmed from a strong inflow of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds that directly hold bitcoin. The Korean price of bitcoin stood at 67.1 million won as of 2 p.m.,

Feb. 13, 2024

Seoul shares open higher amid rate cut hopes

Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday as investors expect the US Federal Reserve to start easing this year due to continued disinflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 33.23 points, or 1.27 percent, to 2,653.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investors await January's US inflation data due later in the day. The US consumer price index is expected to support the view that decelerating inflation will allow the US central bank to start cutting rates this year. In Seoul,

Feb. 13, 2024

[Graphic News] Imports of Japanese seafood post biggest on-year drop since 2012

South Korea’s imports of Japanese seafood posted the biggest on-year decline last year since 2012, a year after the Fukushima nuclear accident, data showed. South Korea imported Japanese fish and shellfish worth a combined $151.9 million in 2023, down 12.8 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. The drop was the biggest since 2012, when South Korea’s imports of Japanese seafood plunged 33.3 percent on-year due to safety concerns after the

Feb. 13, 2024

Foreign investors rush to ‘undervalued’ stocks

Foreign investors have been racking up “underperforming shares” on the Kospi, Korea’s main bourse, backed by increased expectations of the government’s initiative to boost the local stock market. Since the government late last month vowed to come up with new measures to tackle the "Korea discount," offshore investors are increasingly flocking to invest in firms with low price-to-book ratios in anticipation of stock price recoveries. PBR is a metric used to compa

Feb. 12, 2024

S. Korean shares close higher on hopes of US rate cuts

South Korean stocks closed higher for a second consecutive session Thursday amid growing hopes of US rate cuts. The local currency slightly lost ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 10.74 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 2,620.32. Trade volume was heavy at 422.7 million shares worth 12.2 trillion won ($9.18 billion), with gainers slightly outnumbering losers 451 to 436. Foreign investors remained net buyers for a seventh consecutive session, net

Feb. 8, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 14.08 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,623.66 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The upbeat start follows overnight advances on Wall Street amid growing expectations of US rate cuts from the second quarter of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.40 percent while the S&P 500 gained 0.82 percent to close at 4,955.06. In Seoul, large caps traded m

Feb. 8, 2024