South Korean stocks finished lower Friday, taking a cue from overnight falls on Wall Street, although Samsung Electronics, the top cap here, delivered a record quarterly high for the second quarter, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 7.94 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 2,379.87.Trade volume was moderate at 303 million shares worth 4.97 trillion won ($4.31 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 485 to 307.The loc

South Korean stocks traded lower late Friday morning, as investors opted to cash in recent gains. Samsung, the top cap here, slid after reporting its all-time high earnings for the second quarter.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 5.30 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,382.51 as of 11:15 a.m.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics fell 0.04 percent, while SK hynix, a major chipmaker, declined 0.44 percent.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, dropped 2.57 percent.Top steelmaker POSCO gain

Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup, began shutting down five physical branches in the country Friday, as part of its plan to reorganize its operations, according to an industry source. Citibank has said it will drastically cut the number of its physical branches to 25 from 126 but claimed that it will not lay off employees.  Five branches of Citibank in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province were being shut down Friday and 30 more branches will be closed by the end of this month.An uns

Bananas were the most sold fruit in the first half of the year, according to leading retail giant E-mart on Friday, replacing the longtime favorite apples.E-Mart said it sold 37.6 billion won ($32.48 million) worth of bananas in the January-June period, up 8.7 percent from the same period last year. The amount tops numbers for apples that stood at 33.1 billion won, down 16.2 percent from last year. The retail company said the latest tally marks the first time that bananas were the top-selling fr

South Korea’s five largest securities firms in net worth are expected to submit applications to start short-term financing businesses Friday.The firms -- Mirae Asset Daewoo, NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities, Samsung Securities and Korea Investment & Securities -- are planning to apply for eligibility reviews to start financing businesses from the third quarter of this year, according to the Financial Services Commission on Thursday.The eligible securities firms will be gra

Sales of frozen foods have risen sharply in recent months, industry data showed Thursday, amid an increase in one-person households in South Korea, industry data showed Thursday.GS25, South Korea's second-largest convenience store chain, said its frozen food sales grew 31.5 percent during the first six months of this year from a year earlier. The numbers reflect preferences for such food among singles, who are attracted to convenience of preparation.The comparable growth rates were 11 to 14 perc

Amid drawn-out speculation over the future of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, the two countries have been voicing differing views regarding the mutual benefits of the bilateral trade deal, which has now reached its fifth year.  　US President Donald Trump is arguing that the current stipulations are unfair and is the reason for the country’s worsening trade deficit. Trump has referred to the KORUS-FTA as “unacceptable” and a “horrible deal,” suggesting the de

South Korea's retail investors are generally staying away from the local bourses, industry data showed Thursday, as foreigners and institutions pushed up stocks to record highs in recent months backed by improving corporate earnings and resilient exports.The KOSPI main bourse has risen 18 percent in the first six months this year, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market posted a 6 percent jump during the same period.The daily trading volume of individual investors contracted 8.5 percent to 5.06 trill

South Korean department stores saw their sales fall in May as more consumers opted for online shopping, government data showed Thursday. The department stores' sales index dropped 4.6 percent in May compared to the same period last year, according to the data from Statistics Korea.  Since the beginning of this year, the index has been on a downturn, recording 1.5 percent, 5.6 percent and 3.5 percent drops in January, February and March, respectively, the data showed. The rate of decrease dr

Households with loans use about a third of their disposable income on debt repayment, statistics showed Thursday, undermining efforts to spur consumption through spending.The National Assembly Budget Office analyzed figures provided by Statistics Korea and found that a household with loans on average had 46.35 million won ($40,147) in disposable income last year, of which 15.48 million won, or 33.4 percent, was used to pay back principal on loans. It was the first time that the ratio surpassed 3