South Korean stocks snapped a two-day gaining streak to close lower Friday, as investor sentiment was hurt by lackluster earnings and dim guidance from major US tech companies, and uncertainties over the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, analysts said. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 20.38 points, or 0.89 percent, to 2,268.40. Trading volume was moderate at 420.3 million shares worth 8.15 trillion won ($5.73 billion) with

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, weighed by lackluster earnings and forecasts from major US tech companies, with uncertainties hanging over the Federal Reserve's next move for monetary policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 3.7 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,285.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US stocks ended mixed Thursday amid mixed economic data and earnings reports that included downbeat forecasts by big tech companies, including Meta Platforms, Fa

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Thursday, buoyed by gains in blue chip battery and automakers, bucking overnight drops on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 22.38 points, or 0.99 percent, to 2,271.94 in the first 20 minutes of trading. The US S&P and Nasdaq finished lower Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing a tad higher, largely dampened by weaker earnings reports by major tech firms, including Microsoft and Alphabet. In Seoul

South Korean stocks opened nearly unchanged on Wednesday amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve may ease up on its hawkish interest rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.14 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,236.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Softer data on home price growth and consumer confidence, released Tuesday, renewed speculation that the Fed could start scaling down the rate hikes after its November monetary policy meeting set for next week. In Seou

South Korean stocks closed little changed Tuesday from the previous session, as investors took a breather ahead of earnings reports to be released by major companies later this week, amid worries over global inflation and US monetary tightening. After bobbing in and out of positive territory, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 1.09 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,235.07. Trading volume was moderate at 448.8 million shares worth 6.92 trillion won ($4.82 billion) with decliners

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, as investors await quarterly earnings reports from major companies this week, including tech giant Samsung Electronics Co., amid worries over global inflation and monetary tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.74 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,243.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top companies are set to release their third-quarter earnings later this week. The results will likely offer investors a clue as to how they a

A liquidity crunch South Korea is currently facing has to do with multiple factors, mainly led by uncertainties about where the economy is headed amid soaring interest rates and the rapidly depreciating local currency, the country’s top financial policymaker said Monday. “We had prepared the contingencies but the market conditions were worse than what we had expected,” Kim Joo-hyun, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said at a National Assembly audit. Kim referred t

South Korean stocks advanced Monday to end their three-day losing streak. with construction and tech companies leading the rally, as the government's 50 trillion-won ($35 billion) liquidity support plan eased worries about growing credit crunch risks. The local currency ended nearly flat against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 23.04 points, or 1.04 percent, to close at 2,236.16. Trading volume was moderate at 434 million shares worth 6.76 trillion won wit

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Monday, as US Federal Reserve officials' remarks raised hopes that the central bank may dial down the pace of interest rate increases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 35.60 points, or 1.61 percent, to 2,248.72 in the first 15 minutes of trading. While the market still widely predicts another 0.75 percentage point rate hike by the Fed in December, Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, suggested pla

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Friday as weak export data fanned concerns about an economic slowdown. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had slipped 0.85 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,217.24 points as of 9:15 a.m. South Korea's exports in the first 20 days of October contracted 5.5 percent from the previous year, indicating that monthly outbound shipments could decrease on-year for the first time in two years. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched up 0.18 perc

SEJONG -- Financial policymakers on Thursday said banks' foreign currency liquidity conditions remain stable, but raised concerns that the weak won against the US dollar could undermine the asset soundness of financial firms. The remarks were made at a meeting with senior officials from the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Korea, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, which was held at the Korea Center for International Finance in Seoul. At the meeting, First Vic

South Korean stocks retreated for a second straight session Thursday, as investor sentiment worsened on concerns about aggressive rate hikes. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 19.35 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 2,218.09 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 8.1 trillion won (US$5.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 607 to 273. Institutions offloaded a net 409 billion wo

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, taking a cue from overnight losses on Wall Street that stemmed from concerns about aggressive rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had slipped 9.74 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,227.7 points as of 9:16 a.m. Stocks got off to a weak start as investors expected further hikes in the policy interest rates at home and in major economies. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.33 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Com

SoftBank-backed South Korean financial technology startup Qraft Technologies highlighted the role of artificial intelligence in equity asset allocation, as AI plays a complementary role to boost productivity and efficiency of human's tasks. An AI engine can pursue above-average returns with the capability to analyze massive amounts of financial data and discover relationships that humans hardly find, according to Qraft Technologies Chief Product Officer Alan Jo at The Korea Herald Biz Forum

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday as investors took to the sidelines amid earnings reports and woes over aggressive rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had inched up 0.49 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,250.44 points as of 9:20 a.m. Auto and steel companies advanced, while chemical and financial shares declined. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics traded flat, and chip giant SK hynix lost 1.67 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor added 0.3 percent,