South Korean stocks rallied Monday, boosted by strong tech companies that tracked US peers and signs of inflation cooling in the US economy. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 38.19 points, or 1.49 percent, to close at 2,602.47. Trading volume was moderate at 607.3 million shares worth 8.86 trillion won ($6.77 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 606 to 269. "The fact that the University of Michigan consumer senti

Hana Financial Group said Monday it is working together with Binus University, a prestigious private university in Indonesia, to foster global talent in the financial sector. Under the partnership agreement signed in Seoul on Friday, Hana Financial Group will provide opportunities for Indonesian university students to work as interns at Hana offices starting in the second half of this year. Binus University plans to operate the International Talent Pool Management program, which provides credits

South Korea's exports to the United States rose more than 5 percent per year on average over the past decade thanks to the 2012 bilateral free trade agreement, compared with a 1.5 percent increase in the country's overall exports, a think tank said Monday. South Korea's shipments to the US jumped to $96.3 billion in 2021 from $56.4 billion in 2011, marking a yearly 5.5 percent growth on average, according to the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. During the period,

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Monday, driven by tech heavyweights and signs of inflation easing in the US economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 22.61 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,586.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US personal consumption expenditures index, a reading on inflation, rose 3.8 percent in May, a marked drop from a 4.3 percent rise in April, the US Commerce Department data showed, in a sign that inflation is cooling. The core PC

Hana Financial Group Chairperson Ham Young-joo (third from left) and employees pose for photos to promote “cool biz” fashion at the group’s headquarters in Seoul on Friday, as part of an energy-saving campaign challenge. Last month, Ham was nominated by Kolon Vice Chairperson Ahn Byung-duk to join the campaign. On the day, he nominated SC Bank Korea CEO Park Jong-bok and Genesis BBQ Chairperson Yoon Hong-geun as the next participants. (Hana Financial Group)

Experts still pin hopes on China’s reopening, recovery in global chip market

Mirae Asset Securities announced Friday that it received a grade A for its sustainable management by local ESG ratings agency Sustinvest, becoming the only securities firm to earn the top ranking. The latest recognition comes as the company has ramped up sustainability efforts since it started releasing its own sustainable management report in 2006. The company said establishing medium and long-term goals for ESG criteria and taking systematic steps to fulfill the goals with sub-level tasks cont

Hana Financial Group Chairperson Ham Young-joo (third from left) and employees pose for photos to promote “cool biz” fashion at the group’s headquarters in Seoul on Friday, as part of an energy-saving campaign challenge. Last month, Ham was nominated by Kolon Vice Chairperson Ahn Byung-duk to join the campaign. On the day, he nominated SC Bank Korea CEO Park Jong-bok and Genesis BBQ Chairperson Yoon Hong-geun as the next participants.

South Korea reported a trade surplus in June for the first time in 16 months, but its outbound shipments fell for the ninth consecutive month due mainly to weak demand for semiconductors, the industry ministry said Saturday. Outbound shipments fell 6 percent on-year to $54.24 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The decline came as exports of semiconductors, the country's key export item, sank 28 percent on falling demand and a

The Bank of Korea said Friday it sold a net $2.1 billion in the first quarter of the year to help ease the decline of the local currency against the US dollar. The first-quarter dollar selling marks the seventh straight quarter of dollar selling for market smoothing operations since the third quarter of 2021, according to the central bank. The selling of US dollars in the first quarter came as the US Federal Reserve’s rate hikes sharply depreciated the value of the local currency, accordin

South Korean stocks closed higher Friday after the country's economic data showed improvement in industrial output, private spending and facility investment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 14.26 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,564.28. Trading volume was moderate at 498.9 million shares worth 8.04 trillion won ($6.1 billion) with gainers outstripping decliners 612 to 260. The index opened lower on losses of large-cap tech stocks and investors' woes over expectatio

South Korea's tax revenue fell 36.4 trillion won ($27.6 billion) in the first five months of 2023 from a year earlier, data showed Friday, on weaker corporate performance and a slump in the local property market. Tax revenue amounted to 160.2 trillion won during the January-May period, down from 196.6 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. In May alone, the government collected 26.2 trillion won in taxes, down 2.5 trillion won from the previou

South Korean stocks turned lower after starting marginally higher Friday, driven by a decline in big tech companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 7.9 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,542.12 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, major US stock indexes ended mixed as major banks cleared the Federal Reserve's annual stress test, while stronger-than-expected economic data bolstered expectations of an additional rate hike by the Fed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

South Korea's industrial output rose 1.3 percent in May from a month earlier, data showed Friday, with retail sales and facility investment gaining ground as well. The latest growth marks a sharp turnaround from a 1.3 percent on-month drop tallied in April, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The output in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries moved up 3.2 percent over the period on the back of the robust performance of the automobile and chip segments, which ad

The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol welcomed the resumption of a currency swap deal between South Korea and Japan on Thursday, saying it shows the two countries' relationship is improving also in the financial sphere. The US$10 billion currency swap deal was agreed between Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho and his Japanese counterpart, Shunichi Suzuki, in Tokyo earlier in the day, restoring an arrangement that was terminated in 2015 amid strained bilateral ties. "The resumption of the