Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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[Newsmaker] After 'giant' interest rate hikes, are savers better off?
When a small provincial branch of NongHyup Bank offered an online-exclusive installment savings plan with an annual interest of 8.2 percent in November last year, the news spread like wildfire among savvy savers. It sold like lottery tickets. Within hours, the bank sold 900 billion won ($707.8 million) of saving products, which was more than five times the size of the branch's total assets of 167 billion won. The problem was that the rural bank just wanted to attract just 10 billion won of fu
Jan. 11, 2023
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Seoul stocks open higher ahead of US inflation data
Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors expect the upcoming US consumer price index may provide signs of a slowdown in inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 15.24 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,366.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 0.6 percent to 33,704.1 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1 percent to 10,742.63. If Thursday's US inflation da
Jan. 11, 2023
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Seoul stocks up for fifth day amid Fed rate hike worries
Seoul shares ended higher Tuesday, extending their winning streak to a fifth day despite concerns over the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hikes following hawkish Fed officials' comments. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 1.12 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 2,351.31 points. Trading volume was moderate at 351.76 million shares worth some 6.6 trillion won ($5.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 441 to 398. Fe
Jan. 10, 2023
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Banking groups under pressure to boost dividend payouts
Bank stocks in South Korea have long been regarded as an unappealing option for investors. Against this backdrop, a local activist fund was launched Monday targeting seven large Korean lenders to whet investor appetite by shoring up dividends. Korean banks have strong fundamentals and enough capital to cushion against unexpected losses, but their dividend payout ratios remain much lower than those of their global peers, according to Lee Chang-hwan, CEO of Seoul-based private equity firm Align Pa
Jan. 10, 2023
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Seoul stocks open higher amid renewed rate hike woes
Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday as investors remain concerned about the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hike plans following its officials' recent comments. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 3.18 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,353.37 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Fed officials signaled the US central bank could raise rates to somewhere over 5 percent to tame inflation. Foreigners and institutions bought a combined 28 billion won ($22.5 million) worth of sto
Jan. 10, 2023
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Seoul stocks up for fourth day on possible Fed slowdown; won sharply up
Seoul shares ended higher Monday amid expectations of slower US rate hikes. The Korean won sharply rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 60.22 points, or 2.63 percent, to close at 2,350.19 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 334.74 million shares worth some 6.9 trillion won ($5.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 799 to 93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.1 percent to 33,630.61 points on Friday, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Compos
Jan. 9, 2023
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Seoul stocks open higher on eased woes over Fed's rate hikes
Seoul stocks opened higher Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street, as investors expect a slowdown in US wage growth and contraction in the services sector may prod the Federal Reserve to go easy on its aggressive rate hike plans. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 41.01 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,330.98 in the first 40 minutes of trading. Most large-cap stocks advanced across the board. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 1.9 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. c
Jan. 9, 2023
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Unicorn startup Kurly fizzles with IPO withdrawal
Once regarded among South Korea's most successful startups, Kurly, operator of fresh food delivery platform Market Kurly, is losing steam with signs of weakening investor appetite for the loss-making firm. Kurly on Thursday officially called off its long-awaited market debut on the country's benchmark Kospi "for the time being." "Considering the worsened investor sentiment amid the global recession, we have decided to postpone the listing on the Korea Exchange," the
Jan. 6, 2023
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Seoul stocks close up over 1% on chip, battery gains
Seoul stocks closed over 1 percent higher Friday, continuing a three-day winning streak, as foreign and institutional investors picked up Samsung Electronics and other large caps. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index jumped 25.32 points, or 1.12 percent, to close at 2,289.97 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 388.2 million shares worth some 6.6 trillion won ($5.2 billion). Winners outnumbered losers 602 to 262. The Kospi got off to
Jan. 6, 2023
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Seoul stocks open slightly higher despite Wall Street falls
Seoul stocks opened a tad higher Friday despite overnight falls on Wall Street and fresh US job data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index traded up 0.72 points, or 0.03 percent, to 2,265.37 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Major indices on Wall Street fell over 1 percent overnight amid concerns that the country's strong labor market data released Thursday could push the Federal Reserve to continue to raise interest rates. The S&P 500 dropped 1.16 percent, the Dow J
Jan. 6, 2023
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Seoul stocks close higher for second straight day on chip, financier advances
Seoul stocks closed higher for the second straight session on Thursday, driven by advances in chips and financial stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 8.67 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 2,264.65 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 416.6 million shares worth some 7.4 trillion won ($5.8 billion). Winners outnumbered losers 501 to 374. "The Kospi rose in the morning trading, boosted by advances in chips and fina
Jan. 5, 2023
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Seoul stocks spike over 1.5% on chip rally
Seoul stocks surged over 1.5 percent to snap a four-day losing streak Wednesday as foreigners snatched up shares of Samsung Electronics and other chipmakers. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index jumped 37.3 points, or 1.68 percent, to close at 2,255.98 points. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. Trading volume was moderate at about 405.6 million shares worth some 6.4 trillion won ($5 billion). Gainers outnumbered losers 651 to 224. The Kospi got off to a weak start but soon tur
Jan. 4, 2023
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Local crypto market faces turning point in 2023
The year 2022 was a gloomy one for the local digital assets market, with the values of major cryptocurrencies falling sharply amid a string of catastrophes ranging from the collapse of terra and its sister currency luna to the delisting of wemix. With related authorities forging multiple regulations to systematize the volatile market and ensure consumer rights, the digital assets market in Korea is expected to face changes in 2023. One of the significant changes that will reshape the industry
Jan. 4, 2023
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Seoul stocks open lower on Wall Street tech decline, recession woes
Seoul stocks opened lower Wednesday following an overnight fall on Wall Street as investors remain wary of a global recession. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index declined 10.98 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,207.7 points as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, major indexes on Wall Street closed lower, dragged down by declines in heavyweights, such as Apple and Tesla. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.03 percent, the S&P 500 inched down 0.4 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite r
Jan. 4, 2023
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South Korea's foreign reserves expand in December on dollar's descent
South Korea's foreign reserves continued to expand for the second straight month in December as the weakening dollar resulted in a rise in the converted value of holdings denominated in other currencies, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's foreign reserves came to $423.16 billion as of end-December, up $7.06 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea. The increase came as the dollar-converted value of other currency-based assets i
Jan. 4, 2023
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Seoul stocks down for fourth day on tech losses
Seoul stocks extended their losses to a fourth day on Tuesday on a slump in tech stocks as investors still remained wary of rate hikes in major economies and an economic slump. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched down 6.99 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 2,218.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at 403.6 million shares worth 6.03 trillion won ($4.7 billion). Losers outnumbered gainers 523 to 343. Institut
Jan. 3, 2023
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Seoul stocks open sharply lower on recession woes
Seoul stocks opened sharply lower on Tuesday as investors took to the sidelines amid growing recession woes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 20.58 points, or 0.92 percent, to 2,205.09 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Wall Street was closed for the New Year's holiday, while major European stock markets closed more than 1 percent higher overnight on relatively sound manufacturing data. In Seoul, most heavyweights got off to a weak start. Market top cap Samsun
Jan. 3, 2023
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Seoul stocks close lower on first trading day of 2023
Seoul stocks closed slightly lower in the first trading session of 2023 on institutional selling. The Korean won declined against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid down 10.73 points, or 0.48 percent, to close at 2,225.67 points. Trading volume was light at about 335.7 million shares worth some 5.1 trillion won ($4.01 billion). Losers outnumbered gainers 712 to 178. After a strong start, the Kospi surrendered earlier gains as institutional i
Jan. 2, 2023
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Seoul stocks open higher on first day of 2023
Seoul stocks opened higher Monday during the first session of 2023 on retail and institutional buying. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 15.87 points, or 0.71 percent, to 2,252.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Major stock indices closed lower on Wall Street on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.22 percent, the S&P 500 shed 0.35 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 0.11 percent. Analysts expect the local stock market to trend lower this month amid th
Jan. 2, 2023
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Invisible finance is ultimate goal for Shinhan Bank: new CEO
The new CEO of Shinhan Bank, one of South Korea's top four lenders by net profit, vowed to put customer-centric service and digital innovation first during his tenure. “Shinhan will manage its soundness through precise data analysis and protect customer value through timely support measures,” said Han Yong-gu, former deputy president in charge of sales management at the lender, who was inaugurated as CEO on Friday. Offering supportive measures for vulnerable debtors such as ow
Dec. 30, 2022