Money floating around the South Korean stock market has reached a new record high amid a recent market recovery following a coronavirus-caused rout, data showed Monday. The amount of stock-related funds hit 141.79 trillion won ($116.5 billion) as of Tuesday, up nearly 24 percent from Jan. 20 when South Korea reported its first COVID-19 case, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The figure inched down to 141.73 trillion won two days later. Stock-related funds

Corporate governance reform will help local stock market rebound, according to expert

The number of fund managers in South Korea reached a new high in April, as the market appears to be recovering, data showed Sunday. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the number of fund managers in 57 local asset management firms recorded 720, up 20 from the beginning of this year. The corresponding figure had marked the steepest rise from 2007 to 2012 when the nation saw a fund investment boom. The number of local fund managers climbed by more than 200 during the period

South Korea’s market volatility is likely to continue as initial public offering plans for April are slipping through the cracks amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to market watchers Sunday. Sencoretech, a Seoul-based engineering firm dedicated to manufacturing steel structures, has withdrawn its listing plan on Kosdaq, which could have raised at least 27.16 billion won ($22.32 million). “Due to the high volatility caused by COVID-19, we decided to cancel the remaining proce

South Korean stocks are expected to continue to build up gains next week, buoyed by hopes for the reopening of the US economy and the peak of the coronavirus outbreak, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,914.53 points on Friday, compared with 1,860.70 points from a week ago. The KOSPI started off on a weak note on Monday by dropping nearly 2 percent on COVID-19 woes before rebounding on Tuesday and Thursday. The market was closed on Wedn

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo, who chairs a fund management committee under the state-run National Pension Service, said Friday that the pension operator could take part in the domestic stock market more actively, if needed, to support market stability. “The NPS’ active intervention last month has helped stabilize the stock market,” said the health and welfare minister at a meeting in Seoul in the morning with members of the committee. “The pension fun

Korea’s benchmark Kospi rose 3.1 percent, recovering past the 1,900 mark Friday as investors went mining higher-risk stocks on hope of curving the peak of the novel coronavirus with a drug developed for ebola virus treatment.  The local currency closed at 1,217.90 won against the US dollar, strengthening 10.80 won from the previous session’s close.  The benchmark bourse Kospi opened slightly up, at 1,893.31 -- rising 44.15 points, or 2.38 percent, from the previous sess

With the real economy facing the full impact of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the South Korean government is rolling up its sleeves to boost the nation’s job market. At a meeting with economy-related ministers, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday that the government would roll out a set of support measures for the job market next week. “The government will announce a package of measures to stabilize employment in South Korea after talking closely with related ministries and

Sales of equity-linked securities (ELS) in South Korea plummeted in the first quarter, as lingering coronavirus concerns in global stock markets slashed demand, data showed Friday. ELS products issued in January-March stood at 21 trillion won ($17.2 billion), down 38.8 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). ELS refers to hybrid debt securities whose returns are determined by the performance of underlying equities, including a stock

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Friday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 44.6 points, or 2.4 percent, to reach 1,901.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Thursday (local time), US stocks closed higher, with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing 0.14 percent and the S&P 500 up 0.58 percent. The Nasdaq increased 1.66 percent. Large-cap shares on the Seoul bourse were trading in positive terrain. Top cap

Local market less affected by COVID-19 pandemic fallout

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The value of land owned by foreign nationals here came to 30.8 trillion won ($25.1 billion) last year, and accounted for 0.2 percent of the nation’s total area, government data showed Thursday. Foreign land ownership in South Korea as of end-2019 rose 3 percent from a year earlier in terms of area, with the aggregated total at 248.7 square kilometers, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The corresponding area is equivalent to 0.2 percent o

Seoul stocks ended flat on Thursday, unchanged from a session earlier, as institutions and individuals' buying offset foreign selling. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended flat to close at 1,857.07. Trading volume was moderate at 864.4 million shares worth 10.52 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 452 to 401. The main index closed unchanged after US shares fell overnight following the International Mon

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 12.68 points, or 0.68 percent, to 1,844.4 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday (local time), US stocks closed lower as investors absorbed various data showing the COVID-19 outbreak has hurt the world's largest economy. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.86 percent, the S&P 500 was down 2.2 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite Inde