South Korean stocks turned lower Wednesday morning as institutions offloaded stocks on profit taking ahead of major companies' earnings releases from this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.92 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,489.57 as of 11:15 a.m. Institutions extended their net selling to 115 billion won ($102 million), offsetting 117 billion won stocks purchased by fo...

South Korea's secondary stock market has continued to lose steam, while the main stock market has rallied due to big gains by heavyweight technology stocks, according to the nation's bourse operator Wednesday. For years, the junior KOSDAQ market has been struggling with a string of accounting scandals and the defection of large-cap stocks to the benchmark KOSPI stock market. According to the Ko...

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as investors expect strong earnings from major companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 1.70 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,492.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Foreigners and retail investors bought a combined 55 billion won ($49 million) worth of stocks, offsetting 53 billion won sold by institutions. Companies such a...

The preferred bidder for cash-strapped Dongbu Daewoo Electronics is set to be selected in the near future, industry sources said Wednesday, with candidates including both local and overseas firms. According to the sources, NH Investment & Securities Co., which oversees the deal, is currently conducting due diligence with candidates. After the procedure, the firm's financial investors will pick t...

Corporate owner families have put up some 12.6 trillion won ($11.15 billion) worth of stocks as loan collateral, an analysis showed Wednesday, a practice that increased faster among their children's generation, who likely used the money to pay inheritance-related taxes. CEO Score, which tracks management details of major conglomerates, analyzed loans and collateral of 704 family members of the t...

South Korean stocks finished at a fresh record high Tuesday as institutions and individuals scooped up market heavyweights on earnings expectations, analysts said. The won rose against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 0.44 point, or 0.02 percent, to close at 2,490.49. The gain was bolstered by robust third-quarter earnings expectations, with a slew of major fi...

Jung Ji-won, chief executive officer of Korea Securities Finance Corp., was named Tuesday as the single candidate for the new chairman of the Korea Exchange, the operator of the Kospi and Kosdaq. The Busan-based KRX announced Jung had become the sole candidate after interviewing Jung and his contender Choi Bang-gil, former chief executive at Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management. The announcemen...

The US dollar-Korean won exchange rates were the least volatile in three years during the third-quarter of this year, despite rising tension surrounding North Korea, the central bank said Tuesday. The average gap between the daily high and low of the dollar-won exchange rates came to 4.8 won in the third quarter, down from a 5.8 won fluctuation a quarter earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. ...

South Korean stocks pared back earlier gains Tuesday morning to trade slightly lower as institutions and foreigners offloaded stocks on profit taking. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 1.86 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,491.91 as of 11:15 a.m. Institutions and foreigners sold a combined 57 billion won ($50 million) worth of stocks, exceeding the 52 billion won stocks purchase...

Twenty-four companies have newly joined the ranks of those with 10 trillion-won ($8.84 billion) market capitalization compared with 10 years ago, raising the number of such firms to a record high of 35, according to the Korea Exchange on Tuesday. Of the group, 34 were on the main bourse, including Samsung Electronics with a market cap of 352.32 trillion won as of Monday. SK hynix had 61.66 trill...

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, as investors expect strong earnings from major companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 2.97 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,493.02 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Retail investors bought stocks worth more than 35 billion won ($31 million), offsetting 34 billion won sold by foreigners and institutions. Large-cap stocks were...

South Korean stocks turned lower Monday morning after a brief rise, as institutions dumped stocks on profit taking. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.00 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,487.54 as of 11:15 a.m. Institutions offloaded 258 billion won ($228 million) worth of stocks, exceeding a combined 225 billion won by foreigners and individuals. Market bellwether Samsung Ele...

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday as foreigners scooped up technology stocks. The won fell against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 2.25 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,491.79 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. gained 0.71 percent, and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, advanced 2.0 percent. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor...

Default rates for peer-to-peer loans have risen at an alarming rate, nearly tripling in September from a month earlier, market sources said Monday. According to Korea P2P Finance Association, aggregated lending by its 60 member companies totaled 1.47 trillion won ($1.29 billion) as of end-September. The current loans come to 730 billion won. The average default rate, which counts loans unrepaid...

The number of stock-rich persons with their stock holdings valued at 1 trillion won ($883 million) or more rose to the highest ever as the local stock market continued to renew its all-time highs on the back of sound corporate earnings and ample liquidity, industry data showed Sunday. According to industry tracker Chaebul.com, the number of persons with 1 trillion won or more worth of stocks sto...