Total investment in equity funds has nearly halved since 2007, the Korea Financial Investment Association said Tuesday.The total investment managed by local equity fund managers stood at 85.4 trillion won ($80.4 billion) as of October 2013, compared with 140.2 trillion won in late 2008, when the local stock market was hit by the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.Equity fund investments are generally carried out against the stock price index, such as the KOSPI, as investors tend to buy them low, befo

South Korean stocks fell 0.56 percent Tuesday as investors opted to unload shares on profit-taking after recent rallies, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 11.24 points to 2,013.93. Trading volume was light at 254.2 million shares worth 3.48 trillion won ($3.27 billion) with decliners outstripping gainers 496 to 303. Analysts said investors shifted their position to selling as the strong drive that l

South Korean stocks traded 0.38 percent lower late Tuesday morning, as large-cap tech firms and telecom companies drove down shares, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 7.77 points to 2,017.40 as of 11:20 a.m.Samsung Electronics shed 1.3 percent, with top mobile carrier SK Telecom falling 1.1 percent. In contrast, domestic-focused stocks gathered ground. Top Internet portal provider NAVER soared 2.4 percent and state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. rose nea

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Tuesday led by gains in blue-chip auto- and steelmakers, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.67 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,026.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts maker, shot up 2 percent, with leading steelmaker POSCO climbing 1.4 percent. Analysts expected the main index to move in a tight range with institutions opting to take profit from recent rallies. The local currency w

‘U.S. move will strengthen dollar, while increasing market volatility on foreign capital outflows’

Korea’s commercial banks saw their profitability sharply worsen this year due mainly to a retreat in their earnings on interest, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed Monday.Regulatory officials at the FSS revealed that the two major profitability indices ― return on asset and return on equity ― for the first-tier banking industry this year have dropped to their lowest levels since 2003.For the first nine months of this year, the banking sector posted 0.32 percent in collective ROA,

Hundreds of investors facing losses from their investment in Tong Yang Group debts will ask the state auditor to probe regulatory officials for belated efforts regarding Tong Yang’s default, a consumer advocate group representing the investors said Monday. The Financial Consumer Agency plans to lodge a request this week with the national auditor on behalf of 340 investors for a probe on the officials at the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service in charge of overseei

South Korean stocks closed 0.7 percent lower as investors sat on the sidelines amid economic uncertainties from China and the eurozone, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 14.25 points to finish at 2,025.17. Trading volume was light at 232.4 million shares worth 3.48 trillion won ($3.28 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 496 to 306.Analysts said Seoul shares closed lower as economic uncertainties stemming

South Korean stocks traded 0.36 percent lower late Monday morning, led by bearish builders and telecoms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 7.43 points to 2,031.99 as of 11:20 a.m.Builders continued to lose ground, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction falling 0.33 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction losing 2.14 percent. Daelim Industrial edged down 0.1 percent.Mobile carriers also traded lower, with leading SK Telecom falling 1.5 percent

South Korea's top credit appraisers are found to be granting inflated ratings for bonds issued by local firms, data showed Monday, sparking concern for their trustworthiness.Three local appraisers -- Korea Ratings Co., NICE Investors Service Co. and Korea Investors Service Co. -- have granted top ratings of between "AAA" and "A" on 78.9 percent of corporate bonds floated here as of Friday, market data showed.Korea Investors Service has given such investment grades on 82.6 percent of bonds evalua

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors sat on the sidelines amid weak growth momentum on the main bourse, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 14.91 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,024.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.2 percent and leading steelmaker POSCO moving down 0.32 percent. Top chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.3 percent.Builders also traded lower,

U.S. investigative authorities are reportedly expanding their investigation into JPMorgan’s alleged practice of hiring the children of high-level Chinese officials in return for business favors to similar activities in Korea, Singapore and India.South Korean financial authorities said Sunday that they had yet to receive any request for cooperation in the probe.The New York Times reported Saturday that the three countries were the focus of the probe, led by the U.S. Department of Justice and the

U.S. asks Korea to tame market intervention

The National Tax Service said Sunday that it plans to form a task force to further crack down on offshore tax evaders in an effort to secure revenue needed for the government’s welfare pledges.The special team, consisting of tax investigators and lawyers, will take full advantage of its information resources through global pacts with 80 countries that also aim to curb tax evasion. Also, NTS commissioner Kim Duk-joong and tax chiefs from 16 countries agreed to expand cooperation in a Study Group