Korea’s second-tier Kosdaq market is continuing to soar, exceeding the 800-marker for the first time in more than a decade on Friday. 　The Kosdaq index rose 4 points (0.50 percent) to 800.80 as of 9:32 a.m., surpassing 800 for the first time since Nov. 7, 2007. The index opened at 797.97, jumping 1.17 points (0.15 percent). 　The Kosdaq ended up closing at 792.74 on Friday, down 4.06 points, however, managed to exceed 800 in intraday trading .　“The US stock market is closed for the ni

South Korean stocks finished slightly lower Thursday as investors took a wait-and-see stance amid the lack of momentum, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched up 3.36 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 2,537.15. Trade volume was slim at 248.4 million shares worth 5.2 trillion won ($4.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering loser 499 to 272.On Wednesday (local time), the major US indexes retreated from their latest record hi

South Korea‘s top financial watchdog on Thursday unveiled measures to enhance external auditors’ independence, by making it mandatory for auditors to add risk assessments on auditors’ reports.A task force under the Financial Services Commission, steered by the watchdog‘s vice chairman Kim Yong-beom, said that from 2019, an accountant in an auditor’s report must include key audit matters such as risks from revenue recognition, as well as clients’ actions after

The ratio of South Korea's short-term foreign debt to its foreign reserves hit the highest level in two years in the third quarter, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's short-term external debt -- with a maturity of one year or less -- totaled $119.8 billion as of the end of September, up $2.5 billion from three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.The end-September figure accounted for 29.3 percent of the country's total external debt, the highest percentage sin

The trading volume of South Korea's exchange traded funds has jumped more than seven times this month amid the white-hot run of the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, industry data showed Thursday.The combined trading volume of three ETFs operated by Samsung Asset Management Co. came to 29.44 million shares as of Tuesday, up 7.33 times from the start of November.The net asset value of the three ETFs stood at about 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion), the largest among the local ETF markets. Their turnover al

Biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. and biotech company SillaJen Inc. have been the main targets of short sellers on the secondary KOSDAQ market this month after leading the market's recent red-hot run, industry sources said Thursday.The volume of short-sold Celltrion shares came to 3.39 million shares in the first 21 days of this month, the largest among companies registered on the tech-laden stock market.The figure accounts for slightly over 10 percent of the total amount of short-sold share

South Korean savings banks' household lending has soared nearly 20 percent over the past year to top the 20 trillion-won ($18.3 billion) mark despite their high interest, central bank data showed Thursday.Savings banks' outstanding household loans stood at 20.6 trillion won as of end-September, up 19.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Amid softer property regulations and easier access to credit, such loans had been growing at a fast clip since 2013, with

The overseas corporations of major South Korean banking groups have been recommended to build up their pre-emptive risk management capacities, according to financial supervisors.The Financial Supervisory Service recently issued an attention-level management recommendation to Woori America Bank, the US corporation of Woori Bank, asking that it level out its loan portfolio, officials said Wednesday.As the notice is a nonbinding administrative guidance, it is up to the company to voluntarily make t

South Korean stocks closed higher Wednesday as investors scooped up large-cap tech shares following overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.81 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,540.51. Trade volume was slim at 254 million shares worth 4.7 trillion won ($4.2 billion), with losers outnumbering advancers 475 to 341.The broad index opened higher taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street. On Tu

Standard Chartered Bank Korea is promoting a fixed deposit product online that offers an interest rate of up to 2.3 percent, before tax, the bank said in a statement Wednesday. The interest rate of the product will go up according to the amount of deposits raised through the promotion.  If the product raises more than 100 billion won ($91.7 million), the bank will offer an annual interest rate of 2.3 percent for depositors, with the minimum rate guaranteed at 1.7 percent even if the volume

Pharmaceutical and biotech firms traded on South Korea's secondary KOSDAQ market have seen their combined value top 20 percent of the total market capitalization for the first time on jumps in big-cap prices, data showed Wednesday.According to the data from the Korea Exchange, the combined market value of 73 KOSDAQ-listed pharmaceutical and biotech companies stood at 59.2 trillion won as of Monday, accounting for 21.5 percent of the total market cap. The percentage, which came to 17.3 percent at

South Korean game makers have contributed greatly to the recent boom of the country's secondary stock market as their stock prices are on an upswing on hopes of rising earnings, industry sources said Wednesday.Driven mainly by strong earnings momentum, the tech-laden KOSDAQ market has been recently on a roll with its benchmark price index flirting with the 800-point level. It closed 0.52 percent up at a new all-time high of 789.38 on Tuesday.According to the Korea Exchange, Pearl Abyss finished

The opening of South Korea's foreign exchange market will be delayed by one hour on the day of the college entrance exam this week, the committee in charge of the foreign exchange market said Tuesday.The foreign exchange market is set to open at 10 a.m. and close at 3:30 p.m. Thursday as part of efforts to ease traffic, according to the Seoul Foreign Exchange Market Committee.The committee also delayed the opening of the foreign exchange market by one hour last Thursday due to the college entran

South Korean banks saw their short-term time deposits jump more than 10 percent on-quarter in the third quarter amid expectations of interest rate hikes down the road, central bank data showed Tuesday.The outstanding balance of short-term time deposits at local lenders came to 221.6 trillion won ($202 billion) as of the end of September, up 19.4 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.It was up 10.1 percent from the second quarter, the largest quarter

The Korean won will remain strong against the US dollar next year, hitting its peak in the third quarter, a local economic think tank said in its report Tuesday.The Hana Institute of Finance predicted that the won will reach 1,130 won per dollar in the last quarter of this year and rise to 1,115 won in the first quarter next year. It will climb more to 1,095 won in the second quarter before ending the third quarter at 1,080 won, according to the institute. The fourth quarter next year will see t