South Korea’s retail investors are trying to exert their influence on the country’s stock market policies, having tasted success in their last campaign. Dubbed as “ants” for their ability to influence policies when they act as a group, the individual investors are backing a proposal by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration to scrap a capital gains tax imposed on financial investments. The main opposition Democratic Party opposes the abolition of the levy, say

Seoul shares ended higher Friday on institutional buying after the Federal Reserve's first rate cut in more than four years lifted investor sentiment. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 0.49 percent, or 12.57 points, to close at 2,593.37. The main index rose 0.7 percent this week. Trading volume was moderate at 477.43 million shares worth 13.78 trillion won ($10.4 billion), with gainers exceeding decliners 562 to 319. Over

Seoul shares opened higher Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street, after the US Federal Reserve's first rate cut in more than four years lifted investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.09 percent, or 28.01 points, to 2,608.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.3 percent to 42,025.19 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.5 percent to 18,013.98. On Wednesday, the Fed kicked off its monetary-ea

Experts say effective household debt control should come first for BOK's October cut

Seoul shares ended higher Thursday as investors cheered the US Federal Reserve's first rate cut in more than four years. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 0.21 percent, or 5.39 points, to close at 2,580.80. Trading volume was moderate at 378.78 million shares worth 12.6 trillion won ($9.5 billion), with gainers exceeding decliners 497 to 371. The Fed cut its overnight lending rate to a range of 4.75 percent to 5 percent a

South Korea's food delivery industry continued to grow this year, with the most prominent increase seen in fast-food delivery services, according to a Thursday report by a local data analysis firm. The value of food delivery services came to 7.87 trillion won ($5.9 billion) in the first half of the year, according to Finda, marking a 6.55 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Fast-food delivery in particular saw a rise of 22.72 percent to come in at 1.72 trillion won for t

Container shipping costs from South Korea to the US east coast and Europe increased for the fourth consecutive month in August amid prolonged geopolitical risks in the Red Sea, data showed Thursday. The average shipping cost for a 40-foot container from South Korea to the US east coast rose 11.9 percent on-month to 8.66 million won ($6,530), according to data from the Korea Customs Service. The cost to Europe increased to 8.06 million won, up 2.8 percent over the same period. On the other hand,

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday tracking losses on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a half percentage point, the first rate cut in more than four years. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.35 percent, or 8.90 points, to 2,565.51 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Fed cut its overnight lending rate to a range of 4.75 percent to 5 percent in an aggressive start to a monetary-easing cycle in the world's biggest economy. The US central bank

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Thursday the government will work closely with the Bank of Korea and swiftly take market stabilization measures if necessary, as the US Federal Reserve cut its interest rates for the first time in over four years. "Following the Fed's monetary policy pivot, the market is moving away from a complex global crisis, which was triggered by excessive liquidity supplied to cope with the pandemic, as well as shocks to the global supply chain caused by the wa

The local stock market is likely to remain stuck on growth for the time being, reflecting the woes of the US economy, market analysts said. They also advised investors to build up a defensive portfolio to respond to high volatility. The local bourse has remained sluggish in recent days, coupled with concerns about the recession of the US economy. The benchmark Kospi, which closed at 2,681 points on Sept. 2, has been fluctuating at around 2,500 in recent days, marking an around 100-point drop. Fo

South Korea's central bank is likely to cut its policy rate in November, rather than in October, as it wants to be confident of a slowdown in household debt increase amid moderating inflation, analysts have said. The Bank of Korea has only two rounds of its monetary decision meetings left this year in October and November. Last month, the BOK kept interest rates unchanged at 3.5 percent, the highest level in about 16 years, for the 13th straight time. The central bank delivered seven cons

The South Korean economy continues to show signs of recovery, driven by strong exports and manufacturing output, with consumer prices showing signs of stabilization, the finance ministry said Friday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance made the assessment in the Green Book, its monthly economic report, noting that domestic demand is also recovering, led by facility investment and the service sector. "The South Korean economy is experiencing a recovery trend amid the stabilization of consume

Seoul shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors expect the Federal Reserve will cut rates next week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.17 percent, or 4.43 points, to 2,576.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. In August, the US core consumer price index and producer price index rose slightly from a month earlier, dashing hopes for a big cut by the Fed next week. But market participants expect the US central bank to cut rates by at le

Seoul shares closed higher, snapping a seven-day losing streak, on Thursday led by tech gains, with investors expecting the Federal Reserve's rate cut next week after the release of US inflation data. The Korean won traded higher against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.3 percent, or 58.72 points, to close at 2,572.09. Trading volume was moderate at 334.63 million shares worth 11.04 trillion won ($8.2 billion), with decliners far exceeding gainers 762 to

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok vowed Thursday to curb snowballing household debt and thoroughly control the payment crisis involving e-commerce platforms Tmon and WeMakePrice. The nation's household debt has been on fast growth, sparked by a rise of mortgage loans with the increasing number of housing transactions since around June, Choi said at a meeting of economy-related ministers held at the governmental complex in central Seoul. "The government will work to stably control the risi