Latest news with #KOSPI
BusinessToday
15 hours ago
- Business
- BusinessToday
KOSPI Retreats On Profit-Taking After Strong Rally
South Korea's benchmark KOSPI Index ended lower on June 27, slipping 0.77% to close at 3,055.94, as investors opted to take profits following a robust June rally that had pushed the index above 3,100 earlier in the week. This marks the second consecutive session of losses, driven largely by broad-based selling in battery, auto and tech sectors. Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading around 855.4 billion won worth of shares, while institutional and retail investors absorbed some of the pressure with net combined purchases of approximately 805 billion won. Despite the pullback, the KOSPI remains up around 15% for the month, bolstered by easing geopolitical tensions and increased institutional inflows that had earlier sent the index to its highest levels in over three years. Battery and automotive stocks led the decline, with LG Energy Solution falling nearly 3% and Hyundai Motor dropping 2.15%, as investors locked in gains. In tech, Samsung Electronics edged up 1%, but SK hynix lost 3.07%, reflecting mixed sentiment in the semiconductor space. Internet giant Naver dipped 1.3%, while SK Innovation slid 2.5% amid broader weakness in energy shares. The recent decline is widely viewed as a natural correction after June's sharp gains. Markets are also awaiting global signals, particularly from the US Federal Reserve, whose next policy steps could influence foreign capital flows into emerging markets like South Korea. At home, recent economic data, including a 0.6% rise in the Leading Economic Index for April, suggest a gradual improvement in macro conditions. Outlook: With the KOSPI still comfortably above the key psychological level of 3,000, analysts believe the index may consolidate in the near term as traders assess global economic cues and domestic earnings updates. Volatility may persist ahead of key data releases and geopolitical developments, but underlying investor appetite remains firm. Related
Japan Today
a day ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Asian shares mixed after U.S. stocks rise to brink of a record
A dealer walks past near screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) By TERESA CEROJANO Asian shares were mixed on Friday, losing some of their morning gains, after U.S. stocks ran to the brink of another record. U.S. futures and oil prices also logged modest gains. Investors were watching for further details after President Donald Trump said the U.S. and China had signed a trade deal. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview on Bloomberg TV that the deal was signed two days ago, but he gave no details, saying 'The president likes to close these deals himself.' China's Commerce Ministry said Friday that the two sides had 'further confirmed the details of the framework.' But its statement was vague, not explicitly mentioning an agreement to ensure U.S. access to rare earths, materials used in high-tech applications that have been at the center of negotiations. 'China will approve the export applications of controlled items that meet the conditions in accordance with the law. The United States will cancel a series of restrictive measures taken against China accordingly. It is hoped that the United States and China will meet each other halfway,' it said. Worries about Trump's higher tariffs have receded since the president shocked the world in April with stiff proposed levies, but they have not disappeared. The wait is still on to see how big the tariffs will ultimately be, how much they will hurt the economy and how much they will push up inflation. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.3% to 24,250.77, while the Shanghai Composite index gave up 0.7% to 3,424.23 after China reported that industrial profits slid 9.1% in May, the sharpest drop since last October. 'Beijing may have paused the worst of the trade fight with Washington, but the tariff scars are showing—and unless demand picks up or pricing stabilizes, the pressure on margins and business sentiment will linger,' Stephen Innes, Managing Partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a commentary. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index 1.4% to 40,150.79 as the government reported that consumer prices eased slightly in May. South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index fell 0.8% to 3,055.94, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.4% at 8,514.20. Markets have settled somewhat after the upheavals of the Israel-Iran war and its aftermath. On Thursday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to 6,141.02 and was sitting just 0.05% below its all-time closing high set in February. It briefly topped the mark during the afternoon in the latest milestone for the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts, which had dropped roughly 20% below its record during the spring on worries about President Donald Trump's tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 0.9% to 43,386.84, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1% to 20,167.91. Reports Thursday added to evidence the U.S. economy is holding up despite higher tariffs and other challenges, though it has slowed. Orders for washing machines and other manufactured goods that last at least three years grew by more last month than economists expected. Another report said fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, a potential signal of fewer layoffs. A third report said the U.S. economy shrank by more during the first three months of 2025 than earlier estimated. But many economists say those numbers were distorted by a surge in imports as companies tried to get ahead of tariffs. They're expecting a better performance in upcoming months. Following the reports, Treasury yields swiveled up and down in the bond market before easing. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.24% from 4.29% late Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, fell to 3.71% from 3.74% late Wednesday. Analysts said yields may have felt pressure because of a report from The Wall Street Journal saying Trump could name his nominee to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell unusually early, in an attempt to undermine him. That could hurt confidence among investors about the Fed's capability to make unpopular decisions when it comes to fighting inflation. In other dealings on Friday, the U.S. benchmark crude gained 32 cents to $65.56 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 34 cents to $67.03 per barrel. The U.S. dollar rose to 144.50 Japanese yen from 144.40 yen. The euro edged higher to $1.1715 from $1.1703. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
South Korean shares fall on profit-taking but post fifth weekly gain
SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets: South Korean shares extended declines for a second session on Friday on profit-booking following a recent rally on post-election policy hopes, but still posted a fifth straight weekly gain. The benchmark KOSPI closed down 23.62 points, or 0.77%, at 3,055.94. For the week, the KOSPI rose 1.1%. It has gained 13.3% so far this month. 'The market fell broadly on profit taking as current stock prices are not cheap in terms of valuation,' said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. South Korea's exports likely rebounded in June on the back of strong technology demand, following a decline in May, a Reuters poll showed, though economists remain wary amid uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy. Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 1.00%, while peer SK Hynix lost 3.07%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 3.03%. Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 2.15% and down 1.41%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 2.80%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 0.30%. South Korean shares decline on profit booking Of the total 935 traded issues, 247 shares advanced, while 661 declined. Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 855.4 billion won ($630.61 million). The won was quoted at 1,357.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.33% lower than its previous close at 1,352.9. In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds were unchanged at 107.24. The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 0.2 basis point to 2.459%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell 1.5 bps to 2.786%.
CNBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Best Stocks: The Amazon of South Korea that's regaining investor attention after four years in exile
(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — Sean posted a mystery chart in our internal research chat without any labels and asked my group "Would anyone buy this?" It looked good and we all said yes. We were surprised to find out it was the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF , more commonly known as IEMG (Disclosure: we own this for client accounts at Ritholtz Wealth Management): Up until recently, the emerging markets equity asset class has been fast asleep, but now, as you can see, it's waking up. Within IEMG, South Korean stocks are the fourth largest country allocation, after China, Taiwan and India. This is important to know because South Korean stocks are literally on fire this year. The benchmark index, the KOSPI , is up 28% year-to-date, leaving all other major Asian indices in the dust. And here is the EWY , another iShares product that directly represents South Korea, it's an index fund that seeks to replicate the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index. It's smashing the performance of the the world ex-USA: Now you might be saying "But Josh, I thought the Best Stocks in the Market list was US stocks only?" And you're right, it is. There just so happens to be a US-based name on our list that dominates Korean e-commerce, streaming video, food delivery, fashion and payments. That company is called Coupang (CPNG) and it's based in Seattle, despite the fact that its business is in South Korea. The company was founded in 2010 by a South Korean-born American businessman named Bom Kim. Originally, Kim dropped out of Harvard Business School to build a Groupon clone for his native country. He quickly pivoted from coupons to e-commerce, realizing how big the opportunity was. The company went public to a great deal of fanfare in March of 2021 during the IPO bubble. It opened up near $50 per share and subsequently crashed to below $10, never to be spoken of again. Until now. I hope you enjoy this look at an unsung company that has just begun to regain the market's attention after four years in the wilderness. Sean absolutely cooked in his write-up below: Best Stock Spotlight: Coupang Inc (CPNG) On the list since: 5/7/2025 One-year price chart with moving averages, RSI: Sean — CPNG is an Amazon (AMZN) look-alike, similar to the likes of MercadoLibre (MELI) , the Amazon of Latin America, and Alibaba (BABA) the largest e-commerce player in China. Looking at market cap alone, AMZN is above $2 trillion while BABA is above $200 billion, MELI is at $128 billion, and CPNG is at $52 billion. There is a lot of room to grow for CPNG and their earnings reflect that. MELI is probably the closest comp to CPNG so we'll take a look at them side by side. For context, MELI has been one of the biggest home runs in the history of international stock markets — a 9,000% return for shareholders since inception: MercadoLibre and Coupang are both regional, emerging market e-commerce platforms, each leading in their respective markets — Latin America and South Korea. Both companies have asset-heavy fulfillment models, building out their own warehousing and delivery infrastructure to ensure speed and reliability. Beyond retail, MELI and CPNG are evolving into digital platforms, expanding into payments (MercadoPago and Coupang Pay), advertising, and third-party seller ecosystems. They are both clearly utilizing the AMZN playbook. MELI is on another level than CPNG when it comes to profitability, but CPNG is quickly catching up. MELI currently earns a 46.7% gross margin and a 12.9% operating margin vs a 29.3% gross margin and 1.9% operating margin for CPNG. However, CPNG is blowing MELI out of the water in terms of earnings growth. Looking back the past two years, CPNG expanded gross margins by 480 basis points and EBITDA margins by 190 basis points (1 basis point equals 0.01%). MELI's gross margins declined 390 basis points over that same period while EBITDA margins grew only 50 basis points. As of each company's last earnings report, MELI expanded its operating margin 70 basis points while CPNG nearly doubled that growth, expanding margins by 130 basis points year over year. (data via Quartr): Coupang is scaling a logistics empire to rival MELI — but in a much denser, faster market. Over 70% of South Korea's population lives within just 60 miles of a logistics center, allowing Coupang to offer same-day and next-day delivery to over 99% of the country's population. As volume grows, so does margin leverage — which explains why their operating margins have expanded so violently. (data via TechCrunch). This growth is hitting the bottom line. When looking at EPS growth relative to AMZN, MELI, and BABA, CPNG is the fastest grower, and it's not close. Of the 4 comparable companies here, CPNG has the highest expected EPS growth this year and next, at 290% and 127% respectively for 2025 and 2026. MELI is the next closest competitor in terms of earnings growth, expected to grow 33% for 2025 and 39% for 2026. (data via Quartr) Like MELI and BABA before it, CPNG is executing a vertically integrated model that's powering both top-line expansion and margin improvement, and investors are pricing in that growth. Risk management Josh here — CPNG, despite its rally this year, is still in a 40% drawdown from the '21 peak despite the fact that it is now a much bigger, more successful business than it was at the time of its IPO. This May, Barclays reiterated its overweight rating and raised its price target to $36 after CPNG delivered another strong quarter. The analyst mentioned CPNG's upbeat margin trajectories, and ongoing 20% constant-currency revenue growth forecasts for 2025. Barclays says gross profit in their largest business segment, Product Commerce, is set to outpace revenue growth, driven by investments in automation, machine learning, and logistics scale-up. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Chase Coleman's Tiger Capital, Henry Ellenbogen's Durable Capital and the famed Seth Klarman protege, David Abrams, are all major shareholders here, as is Baillie Gifford, one of the earliest institutional investors to build a major position in Tesla. Given the outlook, I like this better as an investment than a trade. As you can clearly see in the chart above, the $25 level has seen a lot of congestion over the last year but the buyers have won the wrestling match. I'd use $25 as a mental stop, depending on how and why it gets down there, I might use that as a place to lighten up or exit. The recent moving average crossover (50-day breaking above the 200-day) gives me encouragement that we could be at the beginning of a brand new uptrend. The stock is now consolidating recent gains. My bet would be that this is what sets up the next leg higher. DISCLOSURES: Ritholtz Wealth owns IEMG for client accounts All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. JOSH BROWN IS THE CEO OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND MAY MAINTAIN A SECURITY POSITION IN THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC" TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Recorder
South Korean shares decline on profit booking
SEOUL: Round-up of South Korean financial markets: South Korean shares fell on Thursday as investors booked profit after a recent rally on post-election policy optimism. The benchmark KOSPI closed down 28.69 points, or 0.92%, at 3,079.56 after falling as much as 2.31% during the session. The index has risen 14% so far this month. 'The KOSPI fell below the 3,100 level on increasing sales to book profits,' said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities. South Korea President Lee Jae Myung, who took office earlier this month, asked the parliament to swiftly approve the $14.7 billion of extra government spending as the economy is in a 'desperate' situation across domestic consumption and exports. Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 1.79%, while peer SK Hynix gained 2.45%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 0.34%. Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia dropped 3.46% and down 1.98%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.74%, and drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 0.50%. Automakers boost South Korean shares higher Of the total 936 traded issues, 181 advanced and 727 declined. Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 579.4 billion won ($427.2 million). The won was quoted at 1,356.9 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.32% higher than Wednesday's close of 1,361.2. In the money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds gained 0.04 point to 107.20. The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell 0.3 basis point to 2.455%, while the benchmark 10-year yield lost 0.4 basis point to 2.799%.
