South Korean stocks traded lower late Wednesday morning as institutions offloaded large-cap stocks in an apparent move to lock in profits, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 5.26 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,069.44 as of 11:20 a.m. The Seoul index had opened higher on Wall Street gains. On Tuesday (local time), the S&P 500 increased 2.45 percent to finish at a ...

Foreign investors remained net buyers of South Korean stocks for the sixth straight month in May, with their holdings of local stocks hitting a new high, data showed Wednesday. Offshore investors were also net buyers of South Korean bonds in the past five months, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Foreign investors snapped up a net 2.1 trillion won ($1.8 billion) worth ...

South Korea‘s stock markets rebounded while sovereign bond yields fell Tuesday, despite possible monetary tightening in the United States and Korea. The benchmark indexes of Korean stock markets -- the Korea Composite Stock Price Index and Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations -- closed after rising 0.71 percent and 0.66 percent, respectively, Tuesday. The five-year treasury yield drop...

South Korean stocks rebounded on Tuesday as institutional buyers scooped up tech shares such as market kingpin Samsung Electronics and panel maker LG Display, despite overnight Wall Street losses due to a slide in tech shares, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 16.83 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 2,347.38. Tra...

The dollar-won volatility eased in May from a month earlier in line with a more stable global financial market, central bank data showed Tuesday. The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rates averaged 0.41 percent in May, compared to 0.43 in April, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. "The won rose against the dollar in May due to bullish local stock markets and political ...

Insurers are likely to face difficulty in raising premiums on auto and indemnity medical insurance as the government of President Moon Jae-in is considering a plan to tighten controls on products, officials said Tuesday. The move, which appears to be aimed at easing financial burdens of low-income people, is expected to take shape as Moon appoints a new head of the Financial Services Commission,...

A looming US rate hike this week appears unlikely to exert a negative impact on South Korea's bond market, experts here said Tuesday. The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a target range of 1 to 1.25 percent. In March, the Fed also raised its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point. Experts said the local bond market may become...

South Korean shares advanced late Tuesday morning, despite the overnight decline on Wall Street, as institutions' buying offset a selling binge by foreign and retail investors. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 11.08 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,368.87 as of 11:20 a.m. Most large caps traded mixed, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics rising 0.13 percent and global chipma...

South Korean securities companies have considerably reduced the number of their overseas branches over the past six years due mainly to their unprofitability, data showed Tuesday. Thirteen local brokerages had a combined 57 overseas branches as of the end of March, compared with 89 branches six years earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Financial In...

An anticipated interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve is likely to have little impact on South Korean bonds because the market has already priced in the change, analysts said Tuesday. This week, the Fed is almost certain to increase its key interest rate for the third time in six months, with an additional rate hike eyed in September. Although the Fed has tightened its monetary policy, analy...

Global equity funds continued to post net inflows into the South Korean market last week on its recovering economy and improving corporate earnings, industry data showed Tuesday. Four international funds investing in South Korea allocated a combined $210 million for the South Korean equity market in the week to Friday, marking the fifth consecutive month of net inflow, according to the data by M...

South Korean stocks opened higher on Tuesday despite overnight Wall Street losses, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 9.33 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,163.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Monday (local time), US stocks dropped, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropping for a second straight session. Large-cap stocks on the Seoul bourse wer...

South Korean stocks ended lower Monday as foreign investors and institutions cashed in recent gains following overnight Wall Street losses, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index declined 23.82 points, or 1 percent, to close at 2,357.87. Trade volume was moderate at 324 million shares worth 5.7 trillion won ($5.3 billion), with l...

Stocks related to Alzheimer‘s disease remained high despite a slide in the main bourse index Monday, on the back of President Moon Jae-in’s fresh policy initiative to invest some 2 trillion won ($1.78 billion) in supporting Alzheimer‘s patients. Moon last week vowed to install more state-run clinics for dementia treatment, increase personnel to look after the patients and widen medical coverage ...

The Korean mobile payment market, currently dominated by Samsung Pay, is predicted to heat up as more rivals are considering joining the race. Samsung Electronics’ payment service Samsung Pay, which was launched in August 2015, has now garnered more than 1 million subscribers here. The tech giant is expanding the application to its smartwatch Gear S3 and low-budget smartphones, the Galaxy A and ...