Seoul shares open higher ahead of FOMC meeting

Seoul stocks opened higher Monday tracking Wall Street gains last week, as investors await the upcoming rate-setting meeting by the US Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 14.72 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,283.12 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks surged Friday, despite weaker than expected earnings results from tech heavyweights, like Amazon and Meta, as investor woes over higher inflation eased. The Dow Jones Index added 2.6 percent, the S&P500

Oct. 31, 2022

Seoul shares fall on lackluster tech earnings, Fed policy uncertainties

South Korean stocks snapped a two-day gaining streak to close lower Friday, as investor sentiment was hurt by lackluster earnings and dim guidance from major US tech companies, and uncertainties over the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, analysts said. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 20.38 points, or 0.89 percent, to 2,268.40. Trading volume was moderate at 420.3 million shares worth 8.15 trillion won ($5.73 billion) with

Oct. 28, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on dim US tech earnings, Fed uncertainties

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, weighed by lackluster earnings and forecasts from major US tech companies, with uncertainties hanging over the Federal Reserve's next move for monetary policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 3.7 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,285.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks ended mixed Thursday amid mixed economic data and earnings reports that included downbeat forecasts by big tech companies, including Meta Platforms, Fa

Oct. 28, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on battery, auto gains

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Thursday, buoyed by gains in blue chip battery and automakers, bucking overnight drops on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 22.38 points, or 0.99 percent, to 2,271.94 in the first 20 minutes of trading. The US S&P and Nasdaq finished lower Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing a tad higher, largely dampened by weaker earnings reports by major tech firms, including Microsoft and Alphabet. In Seoul

Oct. 27, 2022

Seoul shares open almost flat amid eased Fed rate woes

South Korean stocks opened nearly unchanged on Wednesday amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve may ease up on its hawkish interest rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.14 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,236.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Softer data on home price growth and consumer confidence, released Tuesday, renewed speculation that the Fed could start scaling down the rate hikes after its November monetary policy meeting set for next week. In Seou

Oct. 26, 2022

Seoul shares nearly flat ahead of major earnings reports

South Korean stocks closed little changed Tuesday from the previous session, as investors took a breather ahead of earnings reports to be released by major companies later this week, amid worries over global inflation and US monetary tightening. After bobbing in and out of positive territory, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 1.09 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,235.07. Trading volume was moderate at 448.8 million shares worth 6.92 trillion won ($4.82 billion) with decliners

Oct. 25, 2022

Seoul shares open higher ahead of major earnings reports

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, as investors await quarterly earnings reports from major companies this week, including tech giant Samsung Electronics Co., amid worries over global inflation and monetary tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.74 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,243.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top companies are set to release their third-quarter earnings later this week. The results will likely offer investors a clue as to how they a

Oct. 25, 2022

Uncertainties behind recent liquidity crunch: FSC

A liquidity crunch South Korea is currently facing has to do with multiple factors, mainly led by uncertainties about where the economy is headed amid soaring interest rates and the rapidly depreciating local currency, the country’s top financial policymaker said Monday. “We had prepared the contingencies but the market conditions were worse than what we had expected,” Kim Joo-hyun, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said at a National Assembly audit. Kim referred t

Oct. 24, 2022

Seoul shares snap 3-day losing streak amid eased default risks

South Korean stocks advanced Monday to end their three-day losing streak. with construction and tech companies leading the rally, as the government's 50 trillion-won ($35 billion) liquidity support plan eased worries about growing credit crunch risks. The local currency ended nearly flat against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 23.04 points, or 1.04 percent, to close at 2,236.16. Trading volume was moderate at 434 million shares worth 6.76 trillion won wit

Oct. 24, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on Fed hopes

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Monday, as US Federal Reserve officials' remarks raised hopes that the central bank may dial down the pace of interest rate increases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 35.60 points, or 1.61 percent, to 2,248.72 in the first 15 minutes of trading. While the market still widely predicts another 0.75 percentage point rate hike by the Fed in December, Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, suggested pla

Oct. 24, 2022

After soaring past W75tr, can ETF market keep growing?

South Korea's exchange-traded funds combined market cap amounted to 75.5 trillion won ($52.6 billion) as of September, some 220 times larger than 344.4 billion won in October 2002, the latest data from the Korea Exchange showed. ETFs -- a type of pooled investment security that tracks a particular index, sector, commodity, or other assets, which can be traded on a stock exchange -- have managed to capture the attention of Korean investors in recent years. Twenty years ago, ETFs first landed in

Oct. 23, 2022

Seoul shares off to slow start on weak exports

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Friday as weak export data fanned concerns about an economic slowdown. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had slipped 0.85 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,217.24 points as of 9:15 a.m. South Korea's exports in the first 20 days of October contracted 5.5 percent from the previous year, indicating that monthly outbound shipments could decrease on-year for the first time in two years. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched up 0.18 perc

Oct. 21, 2022

Banks' foreign currency liquidity stable but precaution needed: finance ministry

SEJONG -- Financial policymakers on Thursday said banks' foreign currency liquidity conditions remain stable, but raised concerns that the weak won against the US dollar could undermine the asset soundness of financial firms. The remarks were made at a meeting with senior officials from the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Korea, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, which was held at the Korea Center for International Finance in Seoul. At the meeting, First Vic

Oct. 20, 2022

Seoul shares down for 2nd day on rate hike woes

South Korean stocks retreated for a second straight session Thursday, as investor sentiment worsened on concerns about aggressive rate hikes. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 19.35 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 2,218.09 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 8.1 trillion won (US$5.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 607 to 273. Institutions offloaded a net 409 billion wo

Oct. 20, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on rate hike woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, taking a cue from overnight losses on Wall Street that stemmed from concerns about aggressive rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had slipped 9.74 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,227.7 points as of 9:16 a.m. Stocks got off to a weak start as investors expected further hikes in the policy interest rates at home and in major economies. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.33 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Com

Oct. 20, 2022

[KH Biz Forum] SoftBank-backed Qraft highlights AI's role in stock investing

SoftBank-backed South Korean financial technology startup Qraft Technologies highlighted the role of artificial intelligence in equity asset allocation, as AI plays a complementary role to boost productivity and efficiency of human's tasks. An AI engine can pursue above-average returns with the capability to analyze massive amounts of financial data and discover relationships that humans hardly find, according to Qraft Technologies Chief Product Officer Alan Jo at The Korea Herald Biz Forum

Oct. 19, 2022

Seoul shares open nearly flat amid earnings season

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday as investors took to the sidelines amid earnings reports and woes over aggressive rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had inched up 0.49 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,250.44 points as of 9:20 a.m. Auto and steel companies advanced, while chemical and financial shares declined. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics traded flat, and chip giant SK hynix lost 1.67 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor added 0.3 percent,

Oct. 19, 2022

Seoul shares up 1.36% ahead of corporate earnings

South Korean stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday as institutions and foreigners picked up issues ahead of corporate earnings of major companies this week. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 30.24 points, or 1.36 percent, to close at 2,249.95 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 572.65 million shares worth some 7.13 trillion won ($5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 800 to 88. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industr

Oct. 18, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on US gains

South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking rallies on Wall Street that jumped ahead of corporate earnings announcements by major firms this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 25.84 points, or 1.16 percent, to 2,245.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.86 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.43 percent as investors geared up for third-quarter corporate earnings of such big-name firms as N

Oct. 18, 2022

Seoul shares advance for 2nd day on dip-buying

South Korea's stock market advanced for a second consecutive session on Monday as investors went on the hunt for undervalued stocks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 7.16 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 2,219.71 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 487 million shares worth some 6.4 trillion won ($4.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 538 to 322. Foreigners bought a net 264 bil

Oct. 17, 2022