South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on US stock gains, following a US drugmaker's announcement that its vaccine turned out effective against the spreading virus variant. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 11.25 points, or 0.34 percent, to trade at 3,297.93 points as of 9:15 a.m. The Kospi got off to a bullish start, taking a cue from Moderna's announcement that its COVID-19 vaccine produced protective antibodies against the highly contagious delta variant. Ov

South Korean stocks retreated for the second straight session Tuesday as concerns of new coronavirus variants weakened investors' appetite for risky assets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 15.21 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 3,286.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 14.2 trillion won (US$12.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 549 to 303. Foreigners sold a net 550 b

Housing polarization is rapidly deepening in South Korea, with the gap between the highest- and lowest-priced apartments widening to its greatest level on record in June, data showed Tuesday.  According to data from KB Kookmin Bank’s real estate services platform Liiv On, apartment prices in the top 20 percent range reached an average of 1.1 billion won ($978,000) this month, gaining nearly 200 million won on-year. This marked the highest number since the lender started to compile

Kakao Pay, the payment services unit of mobile giant Kakao, could make its market debut in August, the same month its sister company KakaoBank goes public, industry watchers suggested Tuesday. The company received approval on its application for a preliminary qualification examination for listing from the Korea Exchange on Monday, also the same day KakaoBank, a banking arm of the messenger giant, made its August IPO official. After discussing the timeline with its lead underwriters Samsung Sec

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as concerns of new coronavirus variants weakened investors' appetite for risky assets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.55 points, or 0.23 percent, to trade at 3,294.34 points as of 9:15 a.m. The KOSPI got off to a muted start, taking a cue from new travel bans against the new COVID-19 variants in many parts of the world. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics retreated 0.49 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix added 0

KakaoBank, the country’s second internet-only lender, said on Monday that it would raise up to 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 million) in its initial public offering. The banking arm of mobile giant Kakao Corp. will offer a total of 65.45 million new shares at an indicative range between 33,000 won and 39,000 won per share through its upcoming debut on August 5, the IPO application filed with the Korea Exchange showed. The offering prices put the company’s market capitalization somewhere

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Monday, snapping a four-day winning streak amid increased valuation pressure and virus concerns, after the key stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) inched down 0.95 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 3,301.89 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 13.5 trillion won ($11.9 billion), with gainers ou

Two presidential candidates of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea chose the Korea Exchange as a rare location to make a political announcement Monday, saying they will open up a new era of the nation’s benchmark Kospi, and help it reach 5,000 points -- about 50 percent higher than the current index. In an apparent gesture to woo retail investors, Chung Sye-kyun, formerly prime minister under the Moon Jae-in administration, and three-term lawmaker Lee Kwang-jae visited the stock trading

Cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea considered to have “too many” coins on their trading platforms are apparently at risk of being denied access to personal bank accounts here, a report showed Monday. In a document acquired by a lawmaker here, a risk assessment guideline to be used by commercial lenders here classifies exchanges with “a high number and frequency of virtual money transactions” as high risk. The guideline was drawn up in April by the Korea Federation

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday on increased valuation pressure after the key stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged up 1.45 points, or 0.04 percent, to trade at 3,304.29 points as of 9:15 a.m. The Kospi finished the previous session at a record high of 3,302.84 points, fueled by a massive infrastructure package in the United States. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched up 0.12

Kospi rises 7th-sharpest among G-20 bourses amid exports recovery

Banks in South Korea have asked the financial authorities not to hold them responsible for money laundering or other fraud involving digital coins, at a time when they are under pressure to screen the digital exchanges for authenticity amid high volatility. The banks apparently remain reluctant to issue real-name accounts for local cryptocurrency exchanges’ virtual asset customers. A recent amendment to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information requires t

South Korea's stock market reached an all-time high for the second consecutive day Friday, in sync with a global stock rally that stemmed from hopes of a quick economic rebound and a massive US stimulus package. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 16.74 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 3,302.84 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 18.4 trillion won ($16.3 billion), with gainers outnumb

South Korea‘s first-tier stock bourse index Kospi hit an all-time high Friday to close at over 3,300 points, maintaining a winning streak for the fourth consecutive day. This is the first time the composite benchmark index representing the Korea Exchange’s main board exceeded 3,300 points since its birth in 1980. The Kospi closed at 3,302.84 points on Friday, up 0.5 percent from the previous day. Its 808 listed companies‘ combined market cap stood at 2,311.6 trillion won ($2

Fueled by hopes of a fast economic recovery, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi topped the 3,280-point mark for the first time at Thursday’s closing. It also hit a new high during intraday trading, attempting to touch the 3,300-point threshold. Extending its winning streak to a third consecutive session, the Kospi gained 0.3 percent to close at 3,286.10, replacing the previous closing high of 3,278.68 set June 16. The key stock index once touched as high as 3,292.27 in the morning trade