South Korean stocks advanced nearly 1 percent Wednesday as investors sought to buy oversold stocks such as tech and auto shares after a sharp plunge the previous session. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 28.03 points, or 0.96 percent, to close at 2,944.41 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 743 million shares worth some 12.1 trillion won ($10.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 700 to 168. Foreigners sol

South Korea’s economy added the largest number of jobs in more than seven years in September, government data showed Wednesday, with officials citing a surge in contactless services backed by digitalization of industries and high vaccination rate as key catalysts. The economy added 671,000 jobs on-year to 27.68 million in September, Statistics Korea data showed. This marked the largest job growth since March 2014, when the economy added 726,000 jobs and also the seventh consecutive month

South Korean day traders are expressing frustration over the bearish domestic stock market in early October, in the belief that short selling by institutional investors is adding fuel to the market volatility. As of Wednesday, a public petition calling for a complete ban on short selling activities in Korea’s stock market had gained nearly 49,000 endorsements within a week, in another major collective action unfolding on presidential office Cheong Wa Dae’s website. The unnamed pe

South Korea's top economic policymaker has said the government plans to maintain expansionary fiscal policy next year in a bid to prop up the economic recovery, Seoul's finance ministry said Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks during his meeting with Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting. Hong said South Korea's central bank

South Korean banks' household loans grew at a faster pace in September from a month earlier despite the government's toughened controls on lending, central bank data showed Wednesday. According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), outstanding bank loans to households came to 1,052.7 trillion won ($877.9 billion) as of the end of September, up 6.5 trillion won from the previous month. The figure is higher than a 6.1 trillion-won increase registered in August, the data showed. The reading also marked the

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products reached an all-time high in September on the back of solid global demand for chips and displays, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $21.34 billion last month, up 21.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The September figure marked an all-time high since the government began compiling the data in 1996, and the largest for

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, as investors seek to buy oversold stocks after a sharp plunge the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 13.57 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,929.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks lifted as most tech large caps bounced back. Investor sentiment also improved on strong jobs data in September, which jumped by the largest in seven years. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. edged up 0.14 percent

South Korea reported the largest job growth in more than seven years in September in the latest sign that the country's job recovery has continued despite the fourth wave of the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 27.68 million last month, 671,000 more than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest job additions since March 2014, when the number of employed people grew 726,000. It also was the seventh straight m

Output and exports of South Korea's state industrial complexes rose in the first half of the year from the pre-pandemic period, but their employment shrank, data showed Wednesday. Combined production of the 44 industrial parks came to 258 trillion won ($216 billion) in the January-June period, up 6.6 percent from the same period in 2019, months before the COVID-19 outbreak hit the country, according to an analysis by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). Their total exports also swelled 1

The International Monetary Fund maintained its forecast for South Korea’s economic growth for this year at 4.3 percent, while revising down its projection for the global economy, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Tuesday. The IMF’s latest outlook for Asia’s fourth-largest economy remained unchanged from the earlier figure suggested in July. It is well above the growth estimates made by the government and the Bank of Korea -- 4.2 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively.&

Seoul shares closed lower for a second straight session Tuesday on foreign selling amid concerns over inflation sparked by surging prices of oil and other energy resources. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 39.92 points, or 1.35 percent, to close at 2,916.38 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 648 million shares worth some 12.5 trillion won ($10.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 572 to 310. Foreigners s

Samsung shares tumble below 70,000 won for first time in 2021 on strong foreign selling

Bitcoin jumped 30 percent this month to reach 70 million won ($58,378), the first time it breached that level in five months, as US financial regulators said they won’t follow China in banning cryptocurrency transactions. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap rose almost 30 percent during October to 70.99 million won as of Tuesday morning, data from crypto exchange Upbit showed. With the rally this month, bitcoin’s market capitalization reached 1 trillion won, surpassing that of

More South Koreans are dipping into their retirement pension pots to buy homes in expectation of future gain amid soaring housing prices, causing concern over the availability of secure retirement income, a lawmaker said Tuesday. The number of people who pulled out their money from their retirement accounts early stood at 71,931 in 2020, up 79.4 percent from the 40,091 tallied in 2016, according to Financial Services Commission data submitted to Rep. Chun Jae-soo of the ruling Democratic Party

Central bank keeps benchmark interest rate steady at 0.75 percent, warns of growing inflationary pressure due to surge in oil prices