South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday as investors sought profit-taking after the market closed at a record-high level in the previous session.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 2.25 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,398.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Carmakers gained ground, with industry leader Hyundai Motor increasing 1.69 percent and its sister Kia Motors rising 2.04 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis added 1.64 percent.Market behemoth Samsung Elect

South Korea‘s top-tier stock market resumed its record run for an eighth trading day Tuesday, with its index inching closer to a closing mark of 2,400.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,396.00, up 0.58 percent from Monday, marking its 13th all-time high this year. This came nearly two weeks after the market closed at a previous record-high of 2,395.66 on June 29, having momentarily topped 2,400 in early morning trade. About 15 minutes before the market closed

The lack of convertibility of the local currency has stood in the way of South Korea’s reclassification into the Morgan Stanley Capital International’s developed market index.To Korea’s market oversight authorities, however, allowing local currency to be exchangeable offshore appears to be the least likely option out of fears of compromising stability in currency trading.MSCI Chairman Henry Fernandez has reiterated the stance Monday in Seoul that Korea, currently included in th

South Korean stocks traded higher late Tuesday morning on the back of gains in technology firms and mobile carriers. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.53 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,390.63 as of 11:20 a.m. Tech shares continued to advance, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gaining 1.63 percent and LG Electronics increasing 0.99 percent.Top market cap Samsung Electronics edged up 0.08 percent.Mobile carriers were also among winners, with industry leader SK Telecom moving up 1.

South Korea ranked second among emerging economies in the amount of stocks purchased by foreign investors during the first six months this year, market data showed Tuesday.Foreigners net bought $9 billion worth of South Korean stocks during the January-June period, the second largest only after Taiwan's $9.4 billion, according to the statistics by Yuanta Securities.India came in third with $8.5 billion, followed by Brazil at $1.4 billion, Indonesia at $1.3 billion, the Philippines at $408 millio

South Korean stocks opened higher on the back of gains from steel and chemical shares Tuesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 2.29 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,384.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top steelmaker POSCO advanced 2.17 percent, and Korea Zinc climbed 0.22 percent. Hyundai Steel added 1.79 percent.AmorePacific increased 2.31 percent, and LG Household & Health Care rose 0.98 percent. LG Chem moved up 0.34 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,148.

South Korea‘s stock markets modestly gained Monday helped by robust job data of the United States that replaced geopolitical tension from North Korea’s missile launch and global tapering woes.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,382.10, up 0.09 percent Monday compared to the Friday closing, on the back of institutional buying. Institutional investors showed a net purchase of 77.2 billion won ($67.2 million), offsetting net sales of offshore investors at 58.1 bi

Banks, insurers and card companies have charged a total of 59.9 trillion won in service fees since 2013, according to the Financial Supervisory Service in its report to the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.The banks have raised profits from the commission amounting to some 6.4 trillion won ($5.6 billion) annually. This year, the banks are expected to raise some 6.8 trillion won.The service fees charged for money transfer and using an ATM had been lowered in 2011 but they continued to rise in the

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Monday as investors took a wait-and-see stance on second-quarter earnings of listed firms, although Samsung Electronics closed higher on its robust performance estimate, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 2.23 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 2,382.10. Trade volume was low at 277.3 million shares worth 4.87 trillion won ($4.23 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 583

Multicultural families will be able to enjoy exemptions in international wire transfer fees and discounts in currency exchange when using Woori Bank, it said Monday.  The families will be exempt from paying transfer fees – up to 25,000 won ($21.70) for outgoing wire and 10,000 won for incoming wires of over $100 -- if they submit identification and at their nearest Woori Bank branch.Also, multicultural families will be offered a narrower foreign exchange spread, by as much as 80 perce

South Korean stocks traded higher late Monday morning as market behemoth Samsung Electronics gathered ground on the back of its robust second-quarter earnings outlook.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 4.18 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,384.05 as of 11:15 a.m. Tech shares continued to trade higher, with Samsung Electronics increasing 1.34 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix moving up 0.45 percent.Top steelmaker POSCO also advanced 0.84 percent, and Korea Zinc moved up 0.11 pe

Transactions among South Korean financial firms rose 3.7 percent in 2016 from a year earlier, the central bank said, a move that could pose a potential problem in the financial market in the event of a surge in non-performing loans.Transactions among banks and non-banking lenders came to 1,970 trillion won ($1.7 trillion) at the end of last year, up 69.9 trillion won from 2015, the Bank of Korea said in a recent report.The amount of transactions among the financial firms has been on a rise in re

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday as investors took a wait-and-see approach on local firms' second-quarter earnings reports set to be released throughout this month.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 1.42 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,318,29 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Carmakers were among major losers, with Hyundai Motor falling 1.32 percent and its sister Kia Motors backtracking 1.21 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis shed 1.43 percent.In contrast

Offshore investors continued to pour money into South Korean stock markets last month, remaining net buyers of local stocks for a seventh consecutive month, official data showed Monday. Foreign investors boosted their holdings of local stocks by a net 1.75 trillion won ($1.51 billion) in June to 597.7 trillion won, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.  For the first six months of this year, offshore investors bought a net 10.8 trillion won worth of shares issued by So

South Korea’s 10 largest business groups in market capitalization account for more than half of the total value of listings on the country’s main bourse, data showed Sunday.The 10 business groups had 907.2 trillion won ($785.8 billion) in market capitalization, accounting for 51.3 percent of the total 1,767 trillion won as of Thursday, showed data by the Korea Exchange.Among the so-called chaebol, Samsung Group with the market bellwether and its electronics arm Samsung Electronics to