South Korean stocks surpassed the 3,200-point threshold to finish at an all-time high Monday, with a flurry of big-name firms set to report their fourth-quarter earnings. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 68.36 points, or 2.18 percent, to close at 3,208.99 points. The index hit an intraday high of 3,212.22 points. Trading volume was high at about 1 billion shares worth some 20.8 trillion won ($18.9 billion), with gainers o

South Korean media content-related stocks have soared at a fast clip, backed by rising demand for streaming services and growing expectations for the local entertainment industry to strengthen its global foothold, data showed Monday. Studio Dragon, a major local TV drama production firm, saw its shares climb 17.17 percent this year, from 92,600 won ($83.85) marked at the closing of Dec. 30 to 108,500 won touched at Monday’s closing. The stock hit its second-highest closing of 109,200 won

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on strong individual buying ahead of the fourth-quarter corporate earnings season this week and hopes for vaccines against the new coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 15.05 points, or 0.48 percent, to 3,155.68 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Airline, chemical and bio large caps did well, while auto and insurance shares traded bearish. Top cap Samsung Electronics rose 0.23 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix a

South Korean retail investors' holdings of shares in electric vehicle leader Tesla Motors Inc. soared nearly 32 percent this year to cross the $10 billion mark, data showed Monday. Local individual investors owned $10.33 billion worth of Tesla shares as of Friday, up 31.9 percent from the end of last year, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. The figure also represents a 73 times increase from the end of 2019 and South Korean retail investors' most-bought issue among for

Contactless services have also gone mainstream in the second-hand car market with used car dealers increasingly adopting mobile technology to offer credible information on used cars. Joining in on the trend, auto financing firm Hyundai Capital launched an artificial intelligence-powered mobile platform in September last year, which helps consumers avoid low-quality used cars -- often called lemons and picked peaches -- in their recommendations. The used car mobile platform, named Check, has

Foreign investors have continued to scoop up vast amounts of LG Chem shares in the first month of this year, after raking in some 2.38 trillion-won ($2.16 billion) worth of the South Korean chemical giant’s stocks last year, data showed Sunday. Offshore investors purchased a net 605.4 billion-won worth of LG Chem stocks in the Jan. 4-Friday period, according to the Korea Exchange. It was followed by their net buying in internet platform giant Naver with 610.3 billion won across the same p

The total volume of office investments in major districts of the Greater Seoul area hit yet another record in 2020 despite the pandemic, as high demand for offices in prime locations led the bullish market, data showed Friday. The full-year transaction total of offices last year in Seoul and the neighboring city of Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, came to 13.4 trillion won ($12.1 billion), up 9 percent from the previous all-time high in 2019, according to data suggested by commercial real estate se

South Korea's stock exchange ended its three-day winning streak Friday on valuation pressure after hitting another new high the previous session. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 20.21 points, or 0.64 percent, to close at 3,140.63 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 24 trillion won ($21.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 476 to 384. Foreigners sold a net 270 billion won

South Korean investors held a combined $7.8 billion worth of Tesla stocks at the end of last year, data showed Friday, capping off a meteoric rise in 2020 to become Korea’s most-owned foreign stock. This accounted for 16.6 percent of the entire $47 billion foreign currency-denominated stock holdings of Korean individuals and corporations as of December, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository. Tesla was not among the top 10 foreign stocks in 2019. Alongside Tesla, US tech

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Friday on valuation pressure after they hit another new high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.34 point, or 0.01 percent, to 3,161.18 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.34 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.76 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem moved down 0.3 percent, but rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI advanced 1.21 percent. P

South Korea's benchmark stock index hit an all-time high Thursday on strong foreign buying, buoyed by stimulus hopes related to the inauguration of US President Joe Biden. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 46.29 points, or 1.49 percent, to close at 3,160.84 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 24.6 trillion won ($22.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 602 to 246. Foreigners bou

The chief of the Korea Financial Investment Association on Thursday vowed to make greater efforts to support member companies and the capital market, seeking active investment for the state-led New Deal Fund and in environment, social and governance policy changes. Followed by President Moon Jae-in’s announcement of a bold push for a Korean version of the New Deal program last year, the local finance industry has been paying keen attention to the government’s project-related busines

South Korea plans to invest 1.1 trillion won ($1 billion) for commercialization of Level 4 autonomous driving technology, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday, while highlighting the increasing competition in the self-driving car sector driven by global firms like Apple. “With reports of Apple’s plans to enter the future car market, talks of cooperation between big tech firms and traditional carmakers have been growing,” Hong said in a meeting of economy-related officia

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains as US President Joe Biden took office. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 22.24 points, or 0.71 percent, to 3,136.79 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks rose on expectations that the new US administration's potential spending increase would spur demand for export-intensive economies. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged up 0.11 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gaining

South Korean stocks advanced for a second consecutive session Wednesday, as auto and tech stocks continued to rebound. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 15.97 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 3,114.55 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 24.3 trillion won ($22.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 511 to 322. Foreigners sold a net 236 billion won, while retail investors purchased