South Korean stocks lost steam in late Tuesday trading as institutions turned net sellers after scooping up shares amid eased uncertainties. The won rose against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 5.63 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,140.13 as of 11:20 a.m.Institutional investors offloaded 25.01 billion won worth of stocks on profit-taking. Foreigners continued to sell stocks valued at 30.75 billion won. Investor sentiment has improved after the Unite

South Korea's central bank said Tuesday that global trade is expected to expand by 3.1 percent this year on an economic recovery in the United States and other major economies.The Bank of Korea said the US economy is forecast to grow by 2.2 percent, while the Chinese and Japanese economies are expected to expand by 6.5 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. The economic recovery in the US and other major countries could give a boost to world trade.As global raw material transactions start to ris

Most big name companies reduced the size of their workforce last year, affecting contracted workers the most, corporate analysis showed Tuesday.Eighty-seven listed firms affiliated with the top 10 business groups were surveyed by conglomerate tracker FnGuide, with additional information provided by the Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer system (DART) service under the Financial Supervisory Service. The results showed the companies had 629,517 employees as of the end of last year, 2.29 percent

Foreign investors have boosted their won-denominated bond holdings so far this year, industry data showed Tuesday, despite growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. Foreign inflows to the South Korean bond market also came in spite of the US Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates this year.  Offshore investors have purchased a net 16.5 trillion won ($14.5 billion) worth of won-denominated bonds as of last Friday, raising their hold

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street, amid eased market uncertainties. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 5.12 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,150.88 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Analysts expected the main index to get a boost from the United States' decision not to designate South Korea as a currency manipulator in Tuesday's session.  The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.90 percent, a

Organizers of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games on Tuesday signed KEB Hana Bank as their main banking partner.The two sides recently wrapped up their negotiations that began in February and announced their deal in a ceremony at KEB Hana Bank's headquarters in central Seoul.The bank will reportedly offer 11 billion won ($9.7 million) in sponsorships, though PyeongChang had earlier said it sought 15 billion won from its top banking partner.KEB Hana Bank was picked as the preferred negotiating part

Debt sales by South Korean companies dipped 25.4 percent on-month in March, as economic uncertainties limited corporate borrowing, data showed Tuesday.Although South Korea's exports have been showing signs of a moderate recovery, the nation's economy is confronting the prospects of protectionism by the Donald Trump administration and China's apparent economic retaliation over the deployment of an advanced US missile system in South Korea.South Korean firms issued bonds worth 10.3 trillion won ($

South Korean stocks closed higher Monday as institutional buying offset foreign selling amid eased uncertainties following the United States' decision not to designate South Korea as a currency manipulator. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.88 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 2,145.76. Trade volume was moderate at 255.70 million shares worth 3.63 trillion won ($3.2 billion), with advancers outnumbering decliners 627 to 169.Anal

South Korean exports by "new growth" businesses rose an average of 5 percent annually in the past four years, a local trade report said Monday.Exports by companies whose businesses range from robotics, semiconductors, next-generation displays and bio health to aerospace jumped to $76.7 billion in 2016 from $63.2 billion in 2012, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said in a recent report.  This is in contrast to the average 2.5 percent decline in the country's overall

A potential trade tussle between the US and China will have the South Korean economy suffer a decline in its growth rate due to its higher trade dependency on the neighbor, a report said Monday."Having subsided after the global financial crisis, trade protectionism is once again gaining momentum, raising concerns over the negative impact on the highly trade-dependent Korean economy," the report said released by the state-run Korea Development Institution. The report cited that the numb

Cautious optimism on a rebound in the Korean economy seems still shrouded by lingering downside risks at home and abroad.The Bank of Korea’s recent revision of its growth outlook for this year to 2.6 percent from the previous forecast of 2.5 percent bolstered the view that Asia’s fourth-largest economy may be bottoming out to enter the recovery stage. The central bank’s revised growth projection is on par with forecasts by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the International

South Korean stocks extended gains late Monday morning as institutions increased their stock purchases on eased market uncertainties. The won rose against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 8.44 points, or 0.40 percent, to 2,143.32 as of 11:20 a.m."Investor sentiment has improved after the United States has not designated South Korea as a currency manipulator. It seems to be factored in the main index," Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyoung-min sa

The Bank of Korea will move its headquarters to a building in central Seoul and its office in the Gangnam district of Seoul late next month as its headquarters will undergo a three-year renovation project, bank officials said Monday. The renovation project, which will be completed by the first half of 2020 and include the reconstruction of the main annex building, aims to bolster the headquarters' security and safety, BOK officials said.  It will mark the first time the central bank, as wel

The number of unpaid male workers employed at their family businesses rose sharply in recent months, government data showed Monday, as more people are trying to cope with the protracted economic slump."The surge in the number appears to be linked to a growing number of self-employed people," a Statistics Korea official said. The number jumped 11.7 percent, or 16,000, to 150,000 in the first three months this year from a year earlier, according to the official tally.The rise is the shar

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday as defensive stocks gained ground. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 6.51 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,141.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Defensive stocks, that are less prone to external changes and provide constant earnings, mostly gained, with South Korea's No. 1 cosmetics company AmorePacific rising 3.0 percent and KB Financial Group jumping 5.08 percent. Keeping the main index in