South Korean stocks turned lower late Wednesday morning after opening higher, as foreigners opted to dump local shares on a net selling mode, analysts said.   The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.88 points to 1,917.33 as of 11:20 a.m.  Heavy industries and construction companies plunged, with Doosan Heavy Industries nosediving more than 10 percent and No. 1 Hyundai Engineering & Construction tumbling around 6 percent.   In contrast, utilities and telecom shares trended in positiv

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Wednesday, cheered by the government's supplementary budget unveiled a day before to boost the slowing economy, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 8.19 points, or 0.43 percent to 1,930.40 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech and auto blue-chips drove up the main index, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics climbing 0.8 percent and Kia Motors, a smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor, jumping 1.8 percent.

The International Monetary Fund revised down Korea’s gross domestic product growth forecast Tuesday to 2.8 percent this year, from the 3.2 percent it estimated earlier this year.But the IMF said it expected Korea’s economy to progress toward the trend of 4 percent next year, when it would grow 3.9 percent on the back of improvements in exports and increased private investment.The IMF’s revised economic outlook came after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok told lawmakers that

Opposition party to demand full-scale revision of extra budget plan

Financial regulators pledged to enhance accounting oversight of non-listed big enterprises during its report to the National Policy Committee of the National Assembly on Tuesday.The policy is a development from an earlier movement by the Finance Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service to take stern punitive measures against stock manipulators.“Financial authorities will secure legal and systematic grounds to weed out fraudulent accounting practices,” said FSC chairman Shin Je-y

South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Tuesday as hopes of the government’s stimulus measures pared down morning losses following overnight falls on Wall Street, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 1.76 points, or 0.09 percent, to finish at 1,922.21. Trading volume was moderate at 377.5 million shares worth 4.78 trillion won ($4.29 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 464 to 350. The KOSPI fell to 1,896.

South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Tuesday as hopes of the government's stimulus measures pared down morning losses following overnight falls on Wall Street, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.76 points, or 0.09 percent, to finish at 1,922.21. Trading volume was moderate at 377.5 million shares worth 4.78 trillion won (US$4.29 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 464 to 350.  The KOSPI

South Korean stocks plunged 21.44 points, or 1.12 percent, on Tuesday morning, as economic worry was growing over the suspected terrorist attack in the United States and rising losses in techs and autos.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell to 1,899.40 as of 11:07 a.m. It marked the first time the index hovered below the 1,900 mark since November.   Tech blue chips lost ground, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 1.05 percent and its smaller rival LG Electr

Woori Finance Holdings Co., South Korea's top banking group, is likely to launch a committee next week to select a new head to replace Chairman Lee Pal-seung, officials said Monday.Chairman Lee offered to resign from the top post of the state-owned Woori Finance on Sunday, 11 months ahead of the official end of his term, as political pressure mounts.A seven-member committee to select a new chief is likely to be launched on Tuesday when a board meeting will be held, according to officials. A shar

Commissions of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Prime Minister’s Office have been apparently locked in confrontations over the lottery sales cap imposed by the latter, according to industry sources on Monday.Last month, the Lottery Commission, which is under the wing of the Finance Ministry, asked the National Gaming Control Commission, a gambling regulator of the Prime Minister’s Office, for an elimination of the sales ceiling.The Lottery Commission suggested that lotteries do not p

POSCO, the nation’s top steelmaker, said Monday that it has completed an auto steel plate production plant in China as part of an effort to meet growing demand for the product from global carmakers. The high-end steel sheet plant in the city of Foshan, Guangdong province, will produce 450,000 tons of galvanized steel sheets annually, according to the company. Guangdong province is a large economic area with a population of more than 100 million. Major automakers such as GM, Toyota and Honda make

Major conglomerates wary of pension fund’s move to expand veto rights

SEJONG (Yonhap news) ― South Korea logged a trade surplus for 14 straight months in March despite the prolonged economic slump, customs data showed Monday.According to the customs-clearance trade figures provided by the Korea Customs Service, South Korea’s exports advanced 0.2 percent on-year to $47.4 billion last month. In contrast, imports shed 2 percent to $44.1 billion.The country’s March trade surplus came to $3.3 billion, expanding from $2 billion tallied a month earlier.The export growth