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Today Markets

Seoul shares likely to move in tight range next week

South Korean stocks are likely to move in a tight range next week after a continued rally this week as investors take a breather. Despite a surge in new daily COVID-19 cases, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at an all-time high of 2,633.45 points Friday, up 3.72 percent from a week ago. The KOSPI exceed the 2,700-point mark for the first time Friday on extended foreign buying, buoyed by vaccine hopes and expectations

Hyundai Card’s Dive culture app bags top mobile award

South Korean credit card issuer Hyundai Card announced Friday that Dive, Hyundai Card’s culture app, had won a high-profile app award two years in a row. Hosted by the Korea Internet Professionals Association, a nonprofit body that supports the local internet industry, the Smart App Award is one of the most prestigious contests for apps developed by local companies and government agencies. Its annual awards go to the best smartphone apps in six categories -- visual design, user interfa

Dec 4, 2020
Markets
Current account surplus rises to three-year high in Oct.

South Korea’s current account surplus, a key barometer of the nation’s trade, surpassed $10 billion for two consecutive months and hit a three-year high in October, the central bank said Friday. The surplus increased 48.9 percent on-year to $11.6 billion in October on the back of recovering exports, despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Bank of Korea. It marked the largest surplus since September 2017, when the corresponding figure stood at $12.3 billion, and the t

Dec 4, 2020
Economy
Kospi tops 2,700-point mark for the first time on foreign buying

Korean won expected to remain strong against greenback

Dec 4, 2020
Markets
No. of working moms with underage children dips by most amid pandemic

The number of working mothers with underage children fell by the most during the six-month period ending in April as the job market remained sluggish amid the new coronavirus outbreak, data showed Friday. The number of working mothers with children aged under 18 reached 2.67 million as of end-April, down 5.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest decline since 2016, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. The fall was ma

Dec 4, 2020
Economy
S. Korea's currency again touches 30-month high on US stimulus talks

South Korea's currency rose to a fresh 30-month high against the US dollar on Friday, propelled by signs of progress in US stimulus talks and the development of coronavirus vaccines. The won closed at 1,082.10 won per US dollar, sharply up 14.9 won from the previous session's close. It marked the strongest level since June 14, 2018, when the won closed at 1,083.10 won per US dollar. The won's rally was encouraged by prospects over a big US economic stimulus measure and breakthroughs in COVID-

Dec 4, 2020
Markets
Seoul stocks open higher on chip gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on a continued rally by giant chipmakers, after the benchmark index closed at an all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 24.61 points, or 0.91 percent, to 2,720.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech, financial and steel related shares performed strongly, backed by expectations that early COVID-19 vaccine development may quicken the export-intensive economy. Overnight, the Dow Jones Indust

Dec 4, 2020
Markets
Foreign ownership of S. Korean land rises 1.2% in H1

Foreign ownership of South Korean land rose 1.2 percent in the first half of 2020 from the end of 2019, the land ministry said Friday. Foreigners owned 251.6 square kilometers -- slightly more than four times the size of Manhattan -- at the end of June. It represents 0.25 percent of South Korea's total land area, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The value of land held by foreigners increased 1.4 percent to 31.21 trillion won ($28 billion) over the cited

Dec 4, 2020
Economy
S. Korea's current account surplus hits 3-year high in October on export recovery

South Korea's current account surplus hit a three-year high in October as exports showed signs of a modest recovery amid the coronavirus pandemic, the central bank said Friday. The current account surplus reached $11.66 billion in October, widening from a surplus of $10.13 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. It marked the largest surplus since September 2017. Since the country logged a deficit o

Dec 4, 2020
Economy
Seoul stocks finish record-high again on chip, auto gains; Korean won soars

South Korean stocks set another all-time high Thursday despite a resurgence in new coronavirus cases, led by strong advances by chip and auto heavyweights. The Korean won sharply rose to an almost 30-month high against the US greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.32 points, or 0.76 percent, to close at 2,696.22. Stock trading hours were pushed back by 1 hour due to the nationwide college entrance exam. Trading volume was moderate at about 810 million shar

Dec 3, 2020
Markets
Fiscal chief reiterates drive to nurture chips, biotech, fuel cell vehicles

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Thursday reiterated his call to foster the non-memory semiconductor, fuel cell vehicle, and bio-health industries to create new growth in the post-coronavirus era. Presiding over a meeting with ministers for economic affairs in Seoul, Hong discussed strategies to nurture the so-called “big three” sectors and lead the global digitalization, among others. “The government and private sector should join forces to revitalize the coronavirus-hit econ

Dec 3, 2020
Markets
Kospi rally continues as Samsung Electronics shares hit W70,000 mark

Reports say foreigners’ net purchase likely to reduce in Dec.

Dec 3, 2020
Markets
K bank brings lending business back on track

South Korea‘s first mobile-only lender K bank has secured some 650,000 new users over the past five months as it showed signs of business normalization after it resumed its lending business in July, the company said Thursday. The news brought K bank’s accumulated number of bank accounts to over 2 million as of Wednesday, according to the company, which was founded in 2017. From July to November, K bank is estimated to have attracted an average of 130,000 new users each month,

Dec 3, 2020
Markets
Scandal-ridden hedge fund asset transfer begins as regulator revokes license

The transfer of assets associated with scandal-ridden Seoul-based hedge fund manager Lime Asset Management began Thursday as South Korea’s financial regulator scrapped its license to operate in Korea the day before. In a long-awaited move, the bridge institution WellBridge Asset Management is expected to take over all 215 Lime funds to speed up the process of minimizing losses of the assets – most of which are believed to be nearly insolvent -- a key move to mitigate the financial d

Dec 3, 2020
Money
Online shopping rises 20% in Oct. amid pandemic

Online shopping in South Korea grew 20 percent in October from a year earlier as the new coronavirus outbreak prompted people to buy goods via e-commerce platforms, data showed Thursday. The value of online transactions stood at 14.2 trillion won ($12.9 billion) in October, compared with 11.9 trillion won the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The use of online shopping has been on the rise this year amid the pandemic as people refrained from visiting offline stores on

Dec 3, 2020
Economy

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