The main stock market’s consensus net profit estimate for this year has been raised in the wake of a strong earnings forecast for the second quarter and buoyancy of IT firms at home and abroad.The estimated net profit of all 536 listed firms on the first-tier Korea Composite Stock Price Index came to 143.6 trillion won ($128.3 billion), according to data by market tracker FnGuide as of Friday. Compared to a January projection, when it stood at 126.9 trillion won, the annual net profit fore

The size of funds that invest in real estate and nontraditional assets has topped the 100 trillion-won ($89 billion) mark as investors poured money into alternative vehicles seeking stable returns, industry data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association, real estate funds and special asset funds with exposure to commodities, weather, artworks and other alternative investment vehicles had 103.92 trillion won worth of assets under management as of W

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and other major shipyards have seen their stock prices continue to build up gains hitting yearly highs on expectations that the shipbuilding sector is on a recovery track, analysts said Sunday.Hyundai Heavy closed at 179,500 won ($160) on the Seoul bourse on Friday, marking a yearly high, with its smaller rival Samsung Heavy Industries Co. finishing at 12,500 won, also hitting a 52-week high. The rise comes on expectations of rising oil prices and overall trade spurr

South Korean stocks are expected to continue to build up gains next week on the back of strong economic data, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,355.30 on Friday, up 2.9 percent from the previous week, renewing its all-time high.On Monday, South Korean shares breached the 2,300-point mark for the first time ever as foreign investors scooped up major tech stocks amid sound corporate earnings.The index continued to set fresh record highs this week, m

South Korean shares extended their winning streak to end at a new record high Friday on the back of improved investors' sentiment on gains from the Wall Street, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 12.37 points, or 0.53 percent, to reach an all-time high of 2,355.30. Trade volume was moderate at 309.17 million shares worth 6.03 trillion won ($5.38 billion), with advancers far outnumbering losers 499 to 307.It also marks th

South Korea's top lender KB Kookmin Bank said Friday that it has successfully issued $400 million worth of bonds in Taiwan, becoming the first local bank to do so.The Formosa bonds will mature in five years and carry a floating rate with the spread set at 0.95 percentage point plus the three-month London Interbank Offered Rate, a benchmark interest rate in the global financial market, the bank said. Formosa bonds refer to bonds issued in Taiwan but denominated in a currency other than the Taiwan

The average daily stock trading by foreign investors reached nearly 2 trillion won ($1.78 billion) this month, the highest ever in recorded history, according to the Korea Exchange on Friday. In the past 25 days, the average trading value by foreigners for Korean stocks has been 1.99 trillion won, marking the highest value recorded since the Korea Composite Stock Price Index started collecting foreign investors’ data from April 2005. The previous record was 1.9 trillion won in October 2007

South Korean stocks traded 0.42 percent higher late Friday morning, led by gains in logistics and tech firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 9.73 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,352.66 as of 11:20 a.m.CJ Logistics climbed 1.3 percent, and market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.6 percent. In contrast, autos trended lower. Top automaker Hyundai Motor was down 0.6 percent, with its smaller affiliate Kia Motors falling 0.4 percent. The local currency was ch

South Korean stocks opened with a marginal gain on Friday, taking a breather from the previous session's rally that hit an all-time high, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index was up 0.91 point, or 0.04 percent to trade at 2,343.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The main index closed at a record high on Thursday, fueled by the rate freeze of the central bank, which hinted at an upward adjustment of its growth outlook from the current forecast of 2.6 percent, citing r

Money floating around the South Korean stock market has grown steadily this year as investors park funds in short-term equity-related vehicles amid financial uncertainty and a recent market rally, data showed Friday.The amount of money sitting idle around the local equity market came to 298 trillion won ($266 billion) as of Thursday, up 12.4 percent from the end of 2016, according to the data by the Korea Financial Investment Association. The figure includes 23.6 trillion won in investor deposit

South Korea’s pension behemoth the National Pension Service said it has decided to allocate more funds in stock investment, up to 45 percent of the total fund, by 2022.Currently managing about 563 trillion won ($503 billion) fund, the NPS’ fund management committee decided on the five-year investment portfolio during 2018-2022 in a meeting at a hotel in Seoul, Thursday. According to the latest decision, the nation’s largest institutional investor will expand stock investment fr

The benchmark index of South Korea‘s main bourse continued its run into an unprecedented high for the fourth straight trading day Thursday, riding on the US market rallies after the release of the US Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at record-high at 2,342.93, rising 1.1 percent compared to Wednesday. The top-tier stock market opened a tad higher at 2,325.49 compared to record closing Wednesday at 2,317.34. The index began to hover at ar

The head of President Moon Jae-in’s de facto transition team Thursday urged the Financial Services Commission to adopt a new way to curb household debt and speed up liquidation of debt-ridden firms. 　Kim Jin-pyo, chairman of the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, raised the question of the viability of the current measure to tackle what he called “persisting economic woes in the perspectives of pundits and offshore ratings agencies” in a session with the financial regul

Standard Chartered Bank Korea is holding an appreciation event until the end of May offering Shinsegae mobile gift certificates to all customers who sign up for its asset management services. The bank said that a first-time customer will be given a mobile gift card worth up to 30,000 won ($27) on all asset services that exceed 1 million won.  To qualify for the gift card event, accounts and balances must be maintained until the end of the event date. Money market funds and savings accounts

South Korean shares traded higher late Thursday morning and are poised to close at a fresh record high, as foreign and institutional buyers scooped up market heavyweights amid upward momentum, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index sharply gained 21.88 points, or 0.94 percent, to 2,339.22 as of 11:20 a.m.Large caps on the Seoul bourse were mostly bullish, with telecom and steel shares leading the gains.Market behemoth Samsung Electronics increased 1.07 percent, and major c