Foreign investors’ purchase of local stocks hit a record monthly high in August, as fears over the debt-mired eurozone waned and expectations for economic stimulus ran high, the financial regulator said Wednesday. Overseas investors bought a net 6.6 trillion won ($5.82 billion) worth of local equities last month, surpassing the previous record of 6.2 trillion won posted in January this year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. Their shareholdings reached 383.9 trillion won as of the

Korea’s foreign reserves rose to a fresh high in August as investment profit gained and a weaker dollar boosted the conversion value of non-dollar assets, the central bank said Wednesday.The country’s foreign reserves reached $316.88 billion as of the end of August, up $2.53 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The foreign reserves’ previous record high came in April when they hit $316.84 billion. In July, the BOK increased its gold holdings to 70.4 tons, its first pur

The nation’s financial watchdog is currently in talks with Standard Chartered Bank Korea over the reduction of the bank’s planned payments of a high dividend of about 200 billion won to Standard Chartered Korea, officials said on Wednesday. Of the dividend, Standard Chartered Korea is expected to remit about 150 billion won to the headquarters in the U.K, according to industry sources. The payout ratio would reach almost 80 percent for SC Bank considering that its net profit in the first half th

Korean stocks closed 0.29 percent lower on Tuesday as investors scaled back holdings in automakers on concerns over their third-quarter earnings, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 5.58 points to 1,907.13. Trading volume was heavy at 868.2 million shares worth 4.5 trillion won ($4 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 423 to 395.The loss was largely attributed to falls in auto shares.Industry data showed tha

Major foreign investment banks expect South Korea’s central bank to make another rate cut in September due to slumping exports hurt by the eurozone debt crisis and slowing inflationary pressure, a report showed Tuesday.The Bank of Korea is forecast to lower the benchmark 7-day repo rate next Thursday by a quarter percentage point to 2.75 percent in what would be the second rate cut this year, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance.The BOK froze the rate at 3 percen

A slew of financial investment companies here are suffering from capital erosion as their losses surged on excessive competition and the economic slump caused by the eurozone fiscal crisis.Forty-one percent of local asset management firms and 16 percent of brokerage houses had impaired capital, according to the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Financial Investment Association.Some of the smaller companies with impaired capital, whose total capital is less than their paid-in capital, a

The global economic slowdown may continue to weigh down on the South Korean economy for some time, effectively preventing the country’s economic recovery, the nation’s finance minister said Monday.“Exports shrank for a second consecutive month in August as the economies of the United States, China and the eurozone continued to slow down,” Bahk Jae-wan was quoted as saying in a special meeting on economy revitalization.The trade ministry earlier said the country’s exports dropped 6.2 percent from

South Korean stocks opened higher on Monday but swung to negative territory due to losses in major blue chips, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.28 points, or 0.49 percent, to 1,895.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Samsung Electronics slumped 2.11 percent following Apple Inc.'s move to add more products to its patent infringement list. Top steelmaker

Korean stocks will likely move sideways this week, with investors eyeing the result of the European Central Bank’s monetary policy meeting scheduled for later in the week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1,905.12 this week, down 0.8 percent from the previous week. It sank into negative territory earlier in the week after top-cap Samsung Electronics nosedived 7 percent on its patent lawsuit defeat to Apple Inc. The KOSPI rebounded after expectations of ec

South Korean stocks will likely move sideways next week, with investors eyeing the result of the European Central Bank (ECB)'s monetary policy meeting scheduled for later in the week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished at 1,905.12 this week, down 0.8 percent from the previous week. It sank into negative territory earlier in the week after top-cap Samsung

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Friday as investors stayed on the sidelines on jitters over a U.S.-led economic boost amid lack of market momentum, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar. After bobbing in and out of negative territory, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 1.18 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 1,905.20. Trading volume was heavy at 639.1 million shares worth 4.39 trillion won ($3.87 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 420