Notwithstanding the Moon Jae-in administration’s efforts to cool down the real estate market, ordinary homeseekers are feeling overwhelmed by escalating prices in Seoul, industry data showed Wednesday. The consumer sentiment for housing prices this month hit the second-highest level, prolonging an uptrend for two months straight. According to the monthly housing price trend report compiled by KB Kookmin Bank, the average price of small-sized apartments in Seoul came to 413.8 million wo

South Korean stocks closed higher Wednesday for a third consecutive session as top cap Samsung continued to build up gains aided by foreign buying. The Korean won strengthened against the US greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.27 points, or 0.27 percent, to close at 2,263.16. Trading volume was high at about 885 million shares worth some 15.3 trillion won ($12.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 427 to 396. Foreigners purchased a net 292 billion

Samsung Electronics shares bounced back to 60,000 won ($50.30) in nearly five months on Wednesday, with mounting interest of foreign investors for the fourth consecutive session. The stock price of market bellwether closed at 59,000 won -- up 400 won, or 0.68 percent, from the previous session’s close. The price hit an intraday high of 60,400 won in early morning trading. It was the first time that shares of South Korea’s leading tech giant exceeded 60,000 won during a trading s

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday, tracking overnight Wall Street losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.55 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,258.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment turned risk-averse, largely on the COVID-19's impact on the global behemoths' earnings, such as 3M and McDonald's. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.77 percent to 26,379.28, with the Nasdaq Composite falling 1.27 percent. S&P 500 lost 0.65 per

South Korean stocks rallied by almost 2 percent Tuesday on the back of massive foreign buying with techs and market heavyweights leading the market gain. The Korean won slightly fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 39.13 points, or 1.76 percent, to close at 2,256.99. Trading volume was high at about 851 million shares worth some 17.2 trillion won ($14.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 495 to 344. The market continued a bullish r

South Korea’s first internet-only bank K bank plans to go public in three years, according to industry sources Tuesday. The company recently raised new funds worth some 400 billion won ($334.5 million) by issuing new stocks and convertible preferred stocks with its capital increasing to 900 billion won. “Although the firm’s capital has grown with the new fundraising, it would need additional funds to bring operations back on track,” said a company official. “

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Stock trading transactions on mobile platform Stockplus more than doubled in the first half of the year, mainly due to retail investors, platform operator Dunamu said Tuesday. The transaction volume between in the January-June period rose 117.5 percent on-year, with the accumulated transactions exceeding 100 trillion won ($83.9 billion). The transaction volume reached 24.4 trillion won in the six months, surging from 11.2 trillion won in the same period last year. The figure is even higher t

Gold prices surged to a record high on Tuesday, as investors sought to park their money in safer destinations amid the continued spread of coronavirus and renewed US-China tensions. According to the Korea Exchange Gold Market, the price stood at 80,100 won ($66.70) per gram at the closing, jumping 2,640 won, or 3.41 percent, from the previous session. Gold prices rose for a fifth consecutive session. The price hit an intraday high of 82,970 won in early morning trading, the highest figure si

The daily foreign exchange (FX) turnover by banks in South Korea dropped sharply from three months earlier in the second quarter, central bank data showed Tuesday, amid an eased market rout stemming from the new coronavirus pandemic. The daily FX turnover came to an average $52.02 billion in the April-June period, down 12.4 percent from a daily average of $59.37 billion in the first quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Such a drop is "largely attributed to a cut i

South Korean shares opened sharply higher Tuesday on hopes for an economic rebound, as well as slowing new coronavirus infections in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 28.17 points, or 1.27 percent, to 2,246.03 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment ran high on large-scale stimulus plans in the US and Europe. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43 percent on Monday (New York time), with the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite up 1.67

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South Korean shares closed higher Monday, snapping a three-day losing streak, as stimulus steps in major economies boosted investors' appetite for risk. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.42 points, or 0.79 percent, to close at 2,217.86. Trading volume was high at about 918 million shares worth some 9.3 trillion won ($11.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 561 to 284. Foreigners bought a net 156 billion won, with