South Korean stocks began higher Thursday on the back of optimistic economic data from the United States, analyst said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 9.19 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,038.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares led the market gain, with Samsung Electronics adding 1.02 percent and its smaller local rival LG Electronics advancing 1.05 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix climbed 0.87 percent.Builders also traded bullish, with Hyundai Engineeri

FSS unveils package of measures to boost international operations of financial firms

23 million shares sold to foreign and domestic investors

Foreign ownership of land in South Korea inched up from three months earlier in the third quarter, marking a turnaround from the previous quarter, the government said Wednesday.According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the amount of land owned by foreign investors or companies here came to 225.76 million square meters as of the end of September, up 0.01 percent from three months earlier.The land owned by foreign entities accounted for 0.2 percent of the country’s total are

The heads of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will visit South Korea next week to attend a launch ceremony for a climate fund office, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.Jim Yong Kim of the WB and Christine Lagarde of the IMF will attend the ceremony to mark the opening of the secretariat office of the Green Climate Fund. It will be held on Wednesday next week in Songdo, west of the country’s capital of Seoul. South Korea was chosen last October to host the U.N. fund that aims

South Korean stocks inched up 0.31 percent on Wednesday as institutional investors scooped up local shares with telecommunication shares and shipbuilders rising, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.After trading in a narrow range, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 6.17 points to 2,028.81. Trading volume was moderate at 252.8 million shares worth 3.63 trillion won ($3.42 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 446 to 367."Foreign selling cont

South Korean stocks began lower Wednesday due to losses in technology firms and mobile carriers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.4 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,017.24 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares led the market decline, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.74 percent and its smaller local rival LG Electronics moving down 0.15 percent. Flat panel maker LG Display shed 0.63 percent.Mobile carriers also traded bearish, with KT losing 0.1

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Tuesday that it is not considering banning consumers from purchasing lottery tickets with cash.This comes as news outlets reported that Korea’s gambling regulators were moving to prohibit consumers from buying tickets with cash by adopting the electronic card payment system in an effort to prevent gambling addiction.The Finance Ministry said that the media reports were “untrue and that it is not considering banning cash payments for lotteries.”Electronic

Goldman Sachs said on Tuesday that the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index is expected to rise to 2,350 points and the key interest rate to 3 percent by the end of 2014, amid the economic recovery of its largest trading partners. “Korea is expected to surpass the world average in growth rate (in 2014),” said Kwon Goo-hoon, managing director and chief Korea strategist at the Korean operation of Goldman Sachs, in a press briefing in Seoul.Kwon pointed out that the accelerating economic gro

South Korean stocks closed 0.33 percent higher Tuesday, as renewed fear over local currency's rise against major global currencies weighed down investor confidence, analysts said. The Korean won gathered ground against the U.S.dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 6.66 points to finish at 2,022.64. Trading volume was light at 269.7 million shares worth 3.39 trillion won ($3.19 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 408 to 386.The KOSPI started off the session shar

South Korean stocks began lower Tuesday, led by a bearish steelmaker and banking firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 15,78 points, or 0.78 percent to 2,000.20 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Leading steelmaker POSCO slid 1.7 percent, with No. 2 lender KB Financial Group dipping 2.7 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,059.95 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 1.95 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap News)

Hopes for South Korea restarting trade with Iran have been raised following a landmark nuclear deal between the Middle Eastern nation and a group of six powers led by the U.S.Key sectors such as automobiles and petrochemicals, which are blocked from trade with Iran under sanctions by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, are expected to be revitalized, analysts said.As an initial lightening of curbs, the deal would suspend economic sanctions on Iran’s auto and petrochemical indus