South Korean stocks closed 1.64 percent lower Wednesday as the Japanese currency resumed its downtrend against the greenback, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 30.36 points, or 1.64 percent, to close at 1,824.66. Trading volume was moderate at 399.8 million shares worth 3.65 trillion won (US$3.19 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 633 to 195.   Analysts said the decline came as the yen-dollar exchang

South Korean stocks traded 0.93 percent lower late Wednesday morning as the Japanese yen resumed its downtrend, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 17.22 points to 1,837.80 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech blue chips led the market decline, with leading Samsung Electronics losing 1.72 percent and its rival LG Electronics moving down 2.73 percent.Builders also traded lower, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction falling 2.11 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Constructio

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on gains in shipbuilders and technology firms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 2.79 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,857.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shipbuilders gathered ground, with Samsung Heavy Industries advancing 0.56 percent and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering moving up 0.39 percent. Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor added 0.7 percent.Tech shares mostly traded bullish, with SK hynix climb

Ahead of the coming bid competition for Woori Financial Group units, KB Financial Group is set to revamp its business structure to secure its position as a well-prepared potential acquirer.As the initial step, KB Financial is expected to carry out a full-scale personnel reshuffle after its new chairman nominee Lim Young-rok takes office on July 12, group officials said Tuesday.The financial firm, whose flagship is KB Kookmin Bank, is mentioned as one the few powerful contenders for the state-fun

As the economic growth of India, Brazil and the EU is projected to be slower than expected in the latter part of this year, Korean exporters in these markets need to prepare for the risk of delayed payment, according to the state-run Korea Trade Insurance Corp., known as K-sure.The outlook for growth in these three markets was made based on a survey of officials from 14 overseas branches of K-sure on risk of nonpayment in the nation’s key export markets. The main business of K-sure is to guarant

South Korean stocks closed almost flat Tuesday as investors took a wait-and-see approach on the rising concerns over the Chinese economy and listed firms' second-quarter earnings, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 0.71 points, or 0.04 percent to close at 1,855.02. Trading volume was high at 479.6 million shares worth 3.84 trillion won ($3.39 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 431 to 379."Seoul shares tr

South Korean stocks traded 0.11 percent lower late Monday morning on losses in techs and autos, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.08 points to 1,853.65 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech blue chips traded bearish, with top chipmaker SK hynix losing 7.29 percent and leading flat panel maker LG Display falling 1.63 percent. Samsung Electronics, however, edged up 0.68 percent.Carmakers also lost ground, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor falling 3.59 percent and its smalle

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors' sentiment got a boost from improved economic data from the United States, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 3.16 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,858.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares gathered ground across the board, with Samsung Electronics adding 0.68 percent and its smaller rival LG Electronics moving up 0.27 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis moved up 1.48 percent.U.S. stocks

Prosecution expected to launch investigation into suspected cartel: market insiders

SK Innovation Co., the holding company of South Korea’s top refiner SK Energy Co., said Monday it launched two subsidiary units, SK Incheon Petrochem and SK Trading International, in order to combat the rapidly changing global business environment. Last May, SK Innovation decided to spin off its Incheon refinery complex and oil trading division into two respective entities. SK Incheon Petrochem will spend 1.6 trillion won ($1.4 billion) on the expansion of its plants for the production of higher

Foreigners’ net selling of Seoul shares reached the highest first-half tally this year since the 2008 financial crisis, data showed Monday, as they offloaded local shares amid policy uncertainties.Overseas investors dumped more shares than they bought at 10.2 trillion won ($8.7 billion) over the six-month period on the main bourse, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.The number marks the highest level since 17.6 trillion won tallied in the January-June period of 2008, when forei

South Korean stocks shed 0.41 percent Monday as investors took a breather after the sharp gain tallied last week, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 7.59 points to close at 1,855.73. Trading volume was low at 217 million shares worth 2.93 trillion won ($2.57 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 465 to 355.Analysts said the decline came as investors turned cautious after the KOSPI jumped 4.64 percent over

South Korean stocks traded 0.29 percent lower late Monday morning as investors took a wait-and-see approach on U.S. economic data slated to be announced this week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 5.44 points to 1,857.88 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech blue chips led the market decline, with leading Samsung Electronics falling 0.97 percent and top flat panel maker LG Display losing 1.64 percent.Mobile carriers also traded bearish, with SK Telecom falling 2.86 perce

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee once again topped the list of Korea’s 400 richest individuals of 2013 with total assets standing at 12.8 trillion won.Each of the 28 richest Koreans held assets worth more than 1 trillion won ($875 million) this year, financial information provider Chaebul.com reported on Monday.At nearly half of Lee’s total wealth, or 6.8 trillion won, Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo came in second, while the son of Samsung chairman and the vice chairman of S