Financial regulator considers disclosing IDs of short-selling abusers

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Thursday that it is actively considering to disclose the identity of illegal short sellers amid growing criticism that the practice has been disrupting the local stock market. The remark comes amid growing anger from retail investors that have been witnessing the value of their stock investments dropping sharply in recent months. Many are blaming illegal short selling, claiming that they are the victims in a market vulnerable to such practices by

Oct. 6, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on tech gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday despite overnight US losses, on the back of solid gains in big-cap tech shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 18.93 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,234.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.14 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite went down 0.25 percent, following strong gains of the previous two sessions. Some expect a softer tone from the Federal Reserve on moneta

Oct. 6, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on US rallies

South Korean stocks opened markedly higher Wednesday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street, on solid demand for tech bargains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 22.39 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,231.77 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.80 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.34 percent, as US Treasury yields fell and the latest US jobs report raised hope that the Federal Reserve would bac

Oct. 5, 2022

Seoul readies W10tr ‘stabilization’ fund to contain market volatility

South Korea’s finance authorities are preparing to replenish what they call a “stabilization fund” this month to curb volatility gripping the local stock market, led by investors pricing in a sharp US downturn. The fund, which the government last rolled out in 2020 to ride out the COVID-19 fallout but never actually used amid a market rebound, will make possible an injection of roughly 10 trillion won ($7 billion) into the Kospi 200 -- a select group of blue chips on the main b

Oct. 4, 2022

Seoul shares rebound from 2-year low on tech gains

South Korean stocks made a strong rebound Tuesday from more than a two-year low as investors picked up battered tech shares following solid gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 53.89 points, or 2.5 percent, to end at 2,209.38. Trading volume was a bit slim at 412.58 million shares worth 7.37 trillion won ($5.16 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 815 to 90. Foreigners bought a net 216.89 billion won worth of shares in Seoul, while retail and ind

Oct. 4, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, to rebound from an over two-year low amid lingering fears of a global economic recession. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 33.54 points, or 1.56 percent, to 2,189.03 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.66 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.27 percent, as US Treasury yields retreated from levels unsee

Oct. 4, 2022

Seoul shares sink to over 2-yr low amid recession worries

Seoul stocks retreated to an over two-year low Friday amid the spreading recession fears. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 15.44 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 2,155.49. The Friday figure is the lowest closing since the 2,150.25 points on July 10, 2020. Trading volume was moderate at about 933 million shares worth some 7.8 trillion won ($5.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 561 to 321. Institutions bought a ne

Sept. 30, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street plunge

Seoul stocks opened lower Friday, taking a cue from overnight losses on Wall Street that stemmed from growing recession fears. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 7.64 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,163.29 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The market has been in the doldrums, as the key stock index closed at the lowest since July 2020 this week. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics slid 0.962 percent, while chip giant SK hynix jumped 2.35 percent.

Sept. 30, 2022

SC Bank, Toss mull compensation for won-dollar rate error

Standard Chartered Bank Korea and Toss Securities are discussing ways to compensate customers who suffered losses due to a faulty won-dollar exchange rate posted on their mobile trading apps, officials said Thursday. The won-dollar exchange rate on Toss Securities’ mobile trading system was frozen at 1,298 won per US dollar from 1:50 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, when the actual rate hovered around 1,440 won. SC Bank Korea, the London-based financial giant’s Korean unit, which pr

Sept. 29, 2022

Seoul shares open higher after rout amid recession fears

Seoul stocks opened higher tracking overnight Wall Street gains, after plunging to the lowest level in more than two years the previous session on growing recession fears. The Korean won also rebounded to the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 28.66 points, or 1.32 percent, to 2,197.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI ended at 2,169.29 on Wednesday, the lowest since July 20, 2020, amid combative monetary tightening policies in major economies to

Sept. 29, 2022

Seoul stocks sink to over 2-year low on recession woes; Korean won at over 13-yr trough

Seoul stocks dropped to the lowest level in more than two years and the Korean won tumbled to a 13-year low Wednesday on deepening concerns over a global recession in the wake of aggressive monetary tightening in major economies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell by 54.57 points, or 2.45 percent, to end at 2,169.29, the lowest since July 20, 2020, when the market closed at 2,198.20. The KOSPI dived more than 3 percent on Monday before inching up 0.13 percent the

Sept. 28, 2022

Samsung insurers to invest $650m in Blackstone alternatives portfolio

Samsung Group’s insurance units signed a deal worth $650 million with US-based private equity firm Blackstone to expand its global alternative asset portfolio, the Korean insurers said Wednesday. Samsung Life Insurance and non-life insurer Samsung Fire ＆ Marine Insurance will invest in overseas real estate, infrastructure and private equities managed by Blackstone through the latest deal. The investment will be managed by Samsung’s asset management arms Samsung Asset Management and

Sept. 28, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on recession woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, amid lingering concerns over the impact of aggressive monetary tightening in major economies on growth momentum. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 11.98 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,211.88 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.43 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.25 percent. The market has been in disarray, wit

Sept. 28, 2022

Recession fears raise concerns on shaky Kospi

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi tumbled to a fresh intraday low Tuesday in 26 months, led by a sell-off by foreign investors pricing in a sharp US downturn prompted by tighter policy to corral inflation. The index pared the losses later the day, adding 2.92 points or 0.13 percent to 2,223.86. In the afternoon, the main board slid to an intraday low of 2,197.90, the lowest level since July 24, 2020, when it reached 2,195.49. Institutional investors purchased net 245 billion won ($171 million)

Sept. 27, 2022

Saemaul Geumgo mulls new branches in Fiji

The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives is expanding international cooperation to help alleviate poverty in developing countries by sharing Koreans’ experience of doing so through savings. Under the guidance of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, community credit cooperatives, known as Saemaul Geumgo, were set up in Myanmar in 2017, Uganda in 2018 and Laos in 2020. Currently, 53 branches in those countries have some 13,000 members. Recently, separate federations of co

Sept. 27, 2022

SC Bank Korea offers 2.4% for new money market accounts

Standard Chartered Bank Korea said it will offer special interest rates of up to 2.4 percent for as long as 60 days to first-time SC customers who deposit 100 million won or more, up to 2 billion won, in money market deposit accounts. Money market deposit accounts pay interest based on the daily account balance. The bigger the deposit, the higher the interest. The promotional rate is offered to first-time customers of SC Bank Korea who open their accounts by Thursday. The promotion will end wh

Sept. 27, 2022

Seoul shares snap 4-day decline amid recession woes

Seoul stocks snapped their four-day losing streak Tuesday amid still persistent woes over aggressive monetary tightening moves in major economies that could lead to a recession. The Korean won sharply rose against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.92 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 2,223.86. Trading volume was moderate at about 478 million shares worth some 7.8 trillion won ($5.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 481 to 381.

Sept. 27, 2022

Brokerages earn W23.6b in short selling fees in H1: data

Brokerages in South Korea raked in a combined 23.61 billion won ($16.5 million) in fees from handling stock short selling in the first half of this year, data showed Tuesday. The amount compared with 29.28 billion won they earned from short selling-related fees throughout last year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The Seoul branch of Morgan Stanley earned the largest amount at 6.44 billion won, while the Seoul office of Credit Suisse brought in 3.15 billion won in s

Sept. 27, 2022

Seoul shares open tad higher after Monday's plunge

Seoul stocks came off to a choppy start Tuesday after an over two-year trough the previous day amid rising woes over a global recession in the wake of aggressive monetary tightening moves in major economies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.59 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,226.53 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI dipped 3.02 percent and the secondary KOSDAQ sank 5.07 percent on Monday as investors were increasingly concerned about a global recession caus

Sept. 27, 2022

S. Korea nears currency crisis, but officials downplay concerns

Fears are growing that the South Korean won could continue to lose its value against the US dollar close to the level it suffered during the 2008 global financial crisis, but authorities have dismissed speculation over a repeat of such nightmare, saying the currency reserves are strong enough to fight dollar shortages. The dominant dollar, prompted by aggressive US policy tightening to corral inflation, is draining the country’s dollar reserves as it does other countries’, but a defa

Sept. 26, 2022