Seoul shares opened lower Thursday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the release of US inflation data later this week and amid woes over an economic slowdown. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 12.57 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,613.58 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a weak start, taking a cue from overnight Wall Street losses. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite retreated 0.73 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.81 percent

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Wednesday forecasted that the growth of the South Korean economy would stay in the 2 percent range this year in the wake of the inflationary pressure and the prolonged war between Ukraine and Russia. Further, the France-based organization predicted that South Korea’s inflation would reach an upper 4 percent range this year. In its latest world economic outlook report, the OECD revised down its prediction on the gross domestic

South Korea’s economy grew 0.6 percent in the first quarter this year from three months earlier, lower than the 0.7 percent growth forecast in April, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday, citing weak investment and consumption as factors behind the revision. Growth in the gross domestic product for January-March, which slowed from 1.3 percent on-quarter in the previous cycle, expanded 3 percent on-year, also a drop from the 3.1 percent growth the central bank projected in April. “Data

Once a blue chip, now an IT behemoth, Kakao now entangled in series of predicaments; questions raised on losing momentum for growth

South Korean stocks finished nearly unchanged Wednesday, weighed by concerns about inflation and an economic recession. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 0.19 points, or 0.01 percent, to close at 2,626.15 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 561 million shares worth some 7.4 trillion won ($5.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 481 to 360. Institutions sold a net 75 billion won, and foreigners offloaded 103

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s nominations to lead the nation’s top financial regulators have been met with skepticism, as critics say there have been too many prosecutors named already. Yoon, who has appointed several former prosecutors as Cabinet members, appointed an ex-prosecutor to lead the Financial Supervisory Services on Tuesday. Another former prosecutor had been mentioned as a candidate to head the Fair Trade Commission the same day. But the president’s office tweaked th

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.51 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,632.85 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite grew 0.94 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 percent, on a technical rebound. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics added 0.31 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix increased 1.92 percent. Leading chemical firm L

South Korea's economy grew at a slightly slower pace than earlier predicted in the first quarter of this year as investment and spending weakened amid lingering worries over the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.6 percent in the January-March period from three months earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The growth rate was slightly down from 0.7 percent growth estimated in Apri

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday named Bang Moon-kyu, CEO of the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea, to be in charge of government policy coordination, and former prosecutor Lee Bok-hyun to lead Korea’s market watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Service. The president also appointed Kim Joo-hyun, chairman of the Credit Finance Association as chairman of the Financial Services Commission, a top financial policymaking unit, and Kang Seog-hoon, former presidential secretary for economi

Kim Joo-hyun, chairman of the Credit Finance Association and a former bureaucrat experienced in crisis management at the Financial Services Commission, was tapped to lead the top financial policymaker under the Yoon Suk-yeol government. Kim helped South Korea ride out the 2008 financial crisis as the inaugural chief of policy at the FSC, which was set up in January that year as part of a government reshuffle carried out by then-President Lee Myung-bak, who took office a month later. In 2011, K

Seoul shares nosedived by over 1.5 percent Tuesday amid concerns about fast-growing inflation pressure that may strengthen monetary tightening in the United States and other major economies. The Korean won steeply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index 44.31 points, or 1.66 percent, to close at 2,626.34 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 517 million shares worth some 8.8 trillion won ($7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 730 to 163. Institu

SEJONG -- The nation’s high inflation, which has led to a spike in consumer prices since the latter half of 2021, is weakening the purchasing power of households in the low-income bracket, as they spend a large portion of their monthly disposable income on daily necessities, state data showed Tuesday. According to the Finance Ministry and Statistics Korea, households which belong to the bottom 20 percent in terms of income level spent an average 42.2 percent of their monthly disposable in

Seoul shares opened steeply lower Tuesday on concerns about fast-growing inflation pressure that may strengthen central banks' policy tightening. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 21.14 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,649.51 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The local bourse was closed Monday for a national holiday. Volatility increased in the local financial markets on high-flying inflation. Most large caps traded lower in Seoul. Market bellwether Samsung Electronic

Card use for settlement in South Korea swelled 11 percent in April on softer anti-coronavirus rules with spending on travel and transportation spiking, data showed Tuesday, in a sign of the country's consumption returning to pre-pandemic normalcy. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards came to 90.3 trillion won ($71.9 billion) in April, compared with 81.3 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association. The number of approved card se

South Korea's foreign reserves declined for the third straight month in May as the government unloaded the greenback to prevent the local currency from sharply weakening, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's foreign reserves stood at $447.71 billion as of end-May, down $1.59 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the third straight month of on-month declines. The decline is blamed on the government's effor