South Korean stocks traded lower late Monday morning, tracking losses on Wall Street losses, although tech blue chips continued to gain ground, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index backtracked 5.37 points, or 0.22 percent, to hit 2,395.62 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech giant Samsung Electronics gained 0.9 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix adding 1.7 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor, meanwhile, shed 2.68 percent, and its affiliate Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts maker, dropped 3.52

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday following late last week's losses on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.62 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,398.37 in the first 15 minutes of trading.  Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics losing 0.42 percent and leading automaker Hyundai Motor shedding 1.67 percent.In contrast, leading steelmaker POSCO gaining 0.33 percent, and SK hynix was up 1.24 percent on its better-than-expected third-

Kakao Bank, South Korea's second Internet-only bank, said Sunday it has attracted some 800,000 accounts four days since its launch, with combined deposits and loans hovering above 500 billion won ($445.2 million).The bank said the number of clients came to 826,000 as of 3:00 p.m., with deposits being estimated at 275 billion won. The newly established bank also rolled out loans worth 260 billion won so far. More than 1.48 million users also downloaded the Kakao Bank application.Its performance f

South Korea’s stock markets tumbled Friday, with its top-tier Kospi market taking its largest daily loss in a year.The Kospi closed at 2,400.99 on Friday, down 1.73 percent from Thursday. The main bourse index tumbled by the largest margin since July 6, 2016, which saw a 1.85 percent Kospi loss. It also marked the largest drop in 2017, following 1.14 percent slide in March 3.　During late afternoon trade, the Kospi fell below the 2,400 mark at around 2:40 p.m. The index has closed above 2,4

South Korean shares dropped to their lowest level in over two weeks Friday, as foreign investors heavily sold off market heavyweights, mostly tech stocks, a move seen as cashing in recent gains, analysts said. The local currency fell sharply against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index plunged 42.25 points, or 1.73 percent, to close at 2,400.99, after dipping to as low as 2,399.06 at one point. The closing price marks the lowest since July 13, when the comparable fi

The successful first day of Kakao Bank, South Korea’s second internet-only bank, not only signaled a new era of mobile banking but is also pushing conventional banks to depart from their loan-focused business model.While recognizing Kakao Bank’s expanded interest benefits, financial supervisors have recently been adding pressure on leading banks to take more risks and boldly invest in new industries.KaKao Bank, a mobile platform-run banking service, attracted over 300,000 accounts af

Samsung Securities’ model portfolio, which guides global investment distribution of the equity firm‘s funds, has boasted stability, the firm said Thursday.  The core-A type of Samsung Securities’ model portfolio saw a cumulative return of 19.68 percent over the last three years as of the end of June. Of the last 12 quarters, the model portfolio saw a positive rate of return in nine quarters, it explained.The longer the asset was managed, the higher the return was, accordin

Kakao Bank officially began operations Thursday at 7 a.m., becoming the second online-only bank to be launched in South Korea, but it was quickly met with complaints due to the server failure of the bank’s mobile app. Within eight hours of the launch, some 230,000 users had downloaded the mobile app, through which some 103,000 new bank accounts were created, according to the bank. It also drew 26 billion won ($23.3 million) in deposits and savings accounts, while extending loans worth 14 b

South Korean stocks finished higher Thursday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, analysts said. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.73 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 2,443.24. Trading volume was moderate at 420 million shares worth 5.3 trillion won ($4.7 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 430 to 356.The local stock market opened higher on US gains and

South Korean stocks traded higher late Thursday morning, after Samsung Electronics, the top cap here, reported its all-time high earnings for the second quarter.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 6.73 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,441.24 as of 11:20 a.m.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics gained 0.32 percent, while SK hynix, a major chipmaker, was up 3.89 percent.LG Chem, South Korea's top chemicals firm, rose 0.77 percent, while AmorePacific, the country's leading cosmet

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, boosted by market bellwether Samsung Electronics' strong earnings report.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 12.75 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,447.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics gained 1.2 percent after releasing its second-quarter earnings through a regulatory filing. The tech giant said it racked up 14.1 trillion won ($12.6 billion) in the April-June period, up 72.7 percent from 8.14 t

Citibank Korea’s quest for online penetration is not limited to online banking but also extends to the loan serviceability assessment of customers, the firm said Wednesday.The launch of an internet-only loan assessment platform on July 18, dubbed Debt Consolidation Service, allows customers to check their eligibility for loans and reduce the cost of consolidating debts. The assessment is not exclusively offered to the customers of Citibank Korea’s online banking service. Users are re

Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku on Wednesday highlighted local banks’ overdependence on gains from household loans as a hurdle to wage-led growth and said he would lower the maximum interest rate to 24 percent from next year.In his first press conference as the head of the nation’s top financial regulator a week after he took office, Choi pledged to address banks’ overreliance on mortgage loans, saying they have distanced themselves from their original role

South Korean stocks closed lower Wednesday as foreign investors offloaded local stocks on profit-taking, analysts said. The local currency fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 5.39 points, or 0.22 percent, to finish at 2,434.51. Trading volume was moderate at 332 million shares worth 6.4 trillion won ($5.7 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 419 to 385.The local stock market opened slightly higher, taking a cue from overnight Wall Street gains, but c

South Korean stocks traded lower late Wednesday morning, as declines in tech shares weighed on the market. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 3.02 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,436.88 as of 11:20 a.m.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.36 percent, and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, declined 4.26 percent.Korea Electric Power Corp. dropped 0.77 percent.No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor, meanwhile, rose 1.03 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors also moved up 1.63 percen