Seoul stocks close higher on tech gains

South Korean stocks closed higher Tuesday as Samsung Electronics and other tech stocks advanced on expectations of healthier earnings. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 39.34 points, or 1.64 percent, to close at 2,433.81. Trade volume was moderate at 218 million shares worth 7.25 trillion won ($6.37 billion). After closing for 10 days for Chuseok and other public holidays, the local stock market opened higher. South Korean offi

Oct. 10, 2017

Techs drive KOSPI higher late Tuesday morning

South Korean shares traded sharply higher Tuesday, boosted by technology stocks as investors displayed optimism over third-quarter earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 46.54 points, or 1.94 percent, to 2,441.01 as of 11:20 a.m.Top cap Samsung Electronics, scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings guidance later this week, jumped 4.45 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix soared 8.08 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.66 percent, and its smaller affilia

Oct. 10, 2017

Seoul stocks open sharply higher, led by techs

South Korean shares opened sharply higher Tuesday, boosted by technology stocks as investors displayed optimism over third-quarter earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 32.61 points, or 1.36 percent, to 2,427.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large caps had mixed fortunes, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics jumping 4.49 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.33 percent, while top steelmaker POSCO rose 1.42 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,

Oct. 10, 2017

Financial market stable during long Chuseok holiday: regulator

South Korea's financial market remained stable during the 10-day Chuseok holiday despite concerns surrounding North Korean provocations, state regulators said Monday.The Financial Supervisory Service said after a market review meeting that the country's credit default swaps premium stood at 69.9 basis points as of Friday, down from 73.8 bp on Sept. 29, just before the start of the holiday. CDS reflects the cost of hedging credit risk on sovereign debt with a rise implying a deterioration in the

Oct. 9, 2017

[Newsmaker] Samsung stock surge a boon to Lee family

Common stock of firms under South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung saw a combined 111.5 trillion won ($97.3 billion) gain in asset value this year, not only spearheading a stock market rally but also awarding 6 trillion won in increased stock wealth to members of Samsung’s owner family, data showed Monday. The combined market cap of 15 Kospi-listed and one Kosdaq-listed common shares affiliated with the conglomerate rose 30.6 percent to 476 trillion won as of Sept. 28, from

Oct. 9, 2017

Kona I, AirPlus to offer biometric corporate cards

Korean fintech firm Kona I has partnered with payment services provider AirPlus International to offer cards using biometric authentication technology, according to the firm Sunday. The technology will enable cardholders to use fingerprints for verification instead of personal identification numbers or signatures. The firm expects to “speed up transaction time and provide increased convenience and security” through the biometric authentication.  Cardholders will not need to char

Oct. 8, 2017

Kospi rises 5th-fastest among major indices of G-20

South Korea’s main bourse index Kospi rose the fifth-fastest among the major indices of Group of 20 economies this year, data compiled by Korea Exchange showed Sunday.The Kospi soared 17.1 percent this year from 2,026.46 to 2,372.57 as of Sept. 27, following those of Argentina, Turkey, Brazil and Italy. Argentina’s Merval Index topped the list by jumping 49.4 percent over the cited period. This came in sync with the rallies in the G-20 countries. Nine of them saw their major indices

Oct. 8, 2017

Forbes launches French edition to chart 'startup nation'

Business magazine Forbes, famous for its annual ranking of the world's wealthiest, is launching a French edition to chart President Emmanuel Macron's progress in turning his country into a "startup nation".Forbes is a fortnightly magazine but the French-language edition, which will hit newsstands Friday, will be published only every three months.The first issue will retrace the 100-year history of the publication and look ahead to the next 100 through interviews with business magnates

Oct. 6, 2017

[News Focus] Securities firms seek new lending rights

Financial authorities in South Korea are set this month to grant investment-banking licenses to local equity firms and allow short-term corporate lending, but concerns are emerging as that it might undermine the firms’ financial stability.The authorities are reportedly making final touches to their three-month screening process to grant licenses as part of the push to foster big investment banks. Investment banks in excess of 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in equity capital will be eligible

Oct. 6, 2017

[Kosdaq Star] Nexon GT enjoys surprising month on new release, blockchain business

This is the 42nd in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- EdTwo pieces of good news gave mobile game developer Nexon GT an unexpected month of stellar performance on the stock market. The Kosdaq-listed Nexon GT’s strong performance in September mainly stemmed from its wholly-owned subsidiary Nexon Red’s new game release “AxE” on Sept. 14. In addition, on Wednesday, Nexon GT’s holding company NXC ventured into the b

Oct. 1, 2017

Korean stocks end higher on institutional buying

South Korean stocks closed higher Friday as institutional investors and foreigners bought large-cap stocks ahead of a long holiday next week. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 21.33 points, or 0.90 Percent, to 2,394.47.South Korea's stock markets will be closed from Oct. 2 through Oct. 9 as people celebrate Chuseok -- the equivalent to Thanksgiving Day in the US -- and two other national holidays. The main index advanced for a sec

Sept. 29, 2017

Bank of Korea offers net W7tr in liquidity ahead of Chuseok holiday

The Bank of Korea said Friday it has injected a net 7 trillion won ($6.1 billion) in liquidity into the financial system to help keep the money supply stable ahead of the Chuseok holiday. The central bank said its money injection for the 10 business days leading up to the holiday jumped 43.3 percent from a year ago as this year's holiday is the longest in decades. The government gave everyone Monday off to boost domestic consumption, while this year's Chuseok is preceded and followed by other na

Sept. 29, 2017

Korean stocks extend gains

South Korean stocks extended gains late Friday morning as institutions turned buyers offsetting foreign selling. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 13.14 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,386.28 as of 11:20 a.m.The main index rose for a second consecutive session after a week-long losing streak due to foreign selling. Foreigners continued to sell local stocks for a fifth straight session, offloading about 830 billion won ($725 million) stocks in the past four sessions amid ris

Sept. 29, 2017

Seoul stocks open higher on foreign buying

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on a wave of bargain hunting. The Korean won rose against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.04 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,383.18 in the first 25 minutes of trading.Foreigners became net buyers after dumping more than 830 billion won ($725 million) worth of stocks in the past four sessions due mainly to rising tensions between North Korea and the United States over the former's nuclear and missile development programs.&

Sept. 29, 2017

Korea reassures economy intact despite NK tension

The South Korean government on Thursday continued to reassure on the economy’s stability despite escalating security tensions on the Korean Peninsula, as pundits also raised caution that the new level of risk may affect the markets.Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon on Thursday held a ministerial-level meeting to review and discuss the pending situation and economic policies in Seoul.“The persisting North Korea risk is touching off a bit of concerns, but Korea&r

Sept. 28, 2017

Korean stocks end higher on expectations of solid Q4 earnings

South Korean stocks ended slightly higher Thursday as investors bought large-cap stocks on expectations of solid fourth quarter earnings, ending a seven-session losing streak. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 0.57 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,373.14.Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said investors purchased large-cap stocks in auto, tech and chemical sectors in anticipation of their strong earnings in the July-Septem

Sept. 28, 2017

Korea to take market-stabilizing measures to deal with possible FX fluctuation

South Korea will take market-stabilizing measures if the country's foreign exchange becomes more exposed to volatility due to an external shock, a senior finance ministry official said Thursday."Foreign exchange rates will be decided autonomously by the market," Deputy Finance Minister Hwang Kun-il said at a symposium in Seoul. "But the government will take action if the rates experience a wide fluctuation in line with standing procedures." He said the government will be

Sept. 28, 2017

Escalating N. Korean risks to give wider impact on S. Korean financial market: report

North Korea's successful build-up of its missile and nuclear capability is expected to exert greater impact on South Korea's financial market going forward, a report showed Thursday.A monthly report published by the state-run Korea Development Institute said that uncertainties have accelerated in the Northeast Asian region and the risks have advanced to a more dangerous level as Pyongyang is almost reaching the final stage of testing a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile. It n

Sept. 28, 2017

Korean stocks extend losses on foreign selling

South Korean stocks extended losses late Thursday morning on increased selling by foreigners amid heightened tensions between North Korea and the United States.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 4.67 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,367.58 as of 11:20 a.m.The main index continued to fall for the eighth consecutive session mainly on foreign selling. Foreigners dumped more than 1 trillion won ($876 million) worth of stocks in the past seven sessions due mainly to the North Korea ris

Sept. 28, 2017

Institutions tend to sell stocks ahead of Chuseok

Institutional investors have tended to become net sellers of South Korean stocks ahead of the annual Chuseok holiday over the past five years with foreigners turning net buyers, data showed Thursday.According to the data from the Korea Exchange, institutions were net sellers of local stocks before the Chuseok holiday from 2012-16 except for 2015.Their net selling amounted to 829 billion won ($724 million) last year, while institutional investors' net buying stood at 369 billion won two year ago.

Sept. 28, 2017