Seoul shares closed higher Tuesday as investors hunted for bargains, with logistics and automobile shares leading the overall gains. The Korean won gained against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.66 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,774.39. Trade volume was moderate at 703.6 million shares worth 11.4 trillion won ($8.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 492 to 375. Foreigners sold a net 143.5 billion won, while individuals offloaded a net 304 billion won

Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday as investors scooped up auto and chemical shares, despite a slump in technology shares on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.69 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,771.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Nasdaq Composite plunged 1.09 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.67 percent. Nvidia, which briefly shot up to become the most valuable firm last week, plunged 6.68 percent, with other technology fi

The financial regulator said Tuesday that the planned implementation of stricter rules on household loans will be postponed until the start of September amid various risk factors facing the financial market. The country was originally set to implement a second phase formula for floating rate stress debt service ratio (DSR) at the start of next month. The government "has decided through consultations with related organizations to implement the second phase DSR steps from Sept. 1," the F

Seoul shares closed lower Monday as SK hynix plunged by nearly 5 percent and battery makers remained in negative terrain. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 19.53 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,764.73. Trade volume was moderate at 580.2 million shares worth 10.8 trillion won ($7.8 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 637 to 233. Foreigners and institutions sold local shares worth 386 billion won and 94.4 billion won, respectively, while retail investors purchased 464.7 bill

Seoul shares opened lower Monday, after a mixed close on Wall Street, as investors remained cautious ahead of key US data and corporate earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.68 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,777.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.04 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 fell 0.16 percent and 0.18 percent, respectively, as big-cap tech shares took a breather following a rally. Inves

South Korea and the Netherlands have discussed efforts to tackle supply chain disruptions and ways for cooperation in the area as they held their first bilateral economic security talks this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday. The dialogue took place in The Hague on Friday (local time), led by Kim Jin-dong, director general for bilateral economic affairs at the South Korean foreign ministry, and Yvette van Eechoud, deputy director general for foreign economic relations at the Dutc

Seoul shares closed lower Friday on profit taking after a three-session winning streak. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 23.37 points, or 0.83 percent, to close at 2,784.26. The Kospi has risen 0.9 percent this week. Trade volume was heavy at 617.53 million shares worth 14.12 trillion won ($10.1 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 577 to 296. Institutions and foreigners sold a combined 365 billion won worth of stocks, offse

South Korea retained its emerging market status by Morgan Stanley Capital International, with the ongoing short selling ban cited as a hindrance to the country's efforts for a status upgrade. "The recent short selling ban introduces market accessibility restrictions," MSCI said Thursday when announcing the results of its market classification review for the global standard indexes. In part, the New York-based index provider acknowledged and welcomed the recently proposed measures

South Korea's Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will hold talks with his Japanese counterpart, Shunichi Suzuki, next week to discuss ways of strengthening financial and economic cooperation, Seoul's finance ministry said Friday. The ninth Korea-Japan finance ministers' meeting will take place in Seoul on Tuesday, which will mark the first time in eight years that top economic policymakers of the neighboring countries meet in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Th

Seoul shares opened lower Friday, after a mixed close on Wall Street, as investors offloaded tech and other large-cap stocks on profit taking following a three-session winning streak. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 19.81 points, or 0.71 percent, to 2,787.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 percent to 39,134.76 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8 percent to 17,721.59. In Seoul, tech stocks were lead decl

Seoul shares ended higher for the third consecutive session to exceed 2,800 points for the first time in about 2 1/2 years Thursday on tech gains despite concerns over the possible delay of long-awaited US interest rate cuts. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.3 points, or 0.37 percent, to close at 2,807.63. The closing index exceeded the 2,800 level for the first time since Jan. 24, 2022, when the comparable reading was 2,828.11. T

Five banks and five insurance firms in South Korea agreed Thursday to provide up to 5 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in additional funding for real estate development projects. The move comes amid government-led efforts to normalize real estate project financing ㅣloans as prices continue to rise, which include the liquidation of failing projects. Under a memorandum of understanding signed Thursday, the five banks and five insurance firms will first create a 1 trillion-won syndicated loan and gradua

South Korea's car exports rose 4.8 percent on-year last month to reach a record high for any May, driven by solid demand for eco-friendly vehicles, data showed Thursday. The combined value of car shipments came to $6.5 billion in May, beating the previous record for any May set in 2023, when the value stood at $6.23 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of volume, car exports advanced 2.9 percent on-year to come to 254,496 units last month. The increase

Seoul shares opened higher Thursday, after a holiday in the US, helped by tech gains amid concerns over the possible delay of a long-awaited interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.46 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,804.79 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stock markets were closed on Juneteenth on Wednesday to commemorate the end of slavery in the US The Fed recently pared back projections for rate cuts this year. In Seoul, tech sto

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a "national emergency on population" Wednesday, rolling out measures to expand cash support for newborn babies and reverse the declining birth rate trend. "The population crisis caused by extremely low birth rates is the foremost and critical issue for South Korea," Yoon said, adding that the rapid population decline has now become a matter "prompting concerns about the very survival of South Korea." Yoon made the announcement during