KOSPI rebounds above 6,500 as foreign investors return amid global chip rally SEOUL, August 5 (AJP) - South Korean stocks extended their rally on Wednesday, with the benchmark KOSPI climbing back above 6,500 as foreign investors returned to the market as net buyers. The rally was further supported by strength in global semiconductor shares and easing Middle East tensions. The KOSPI closed 3.76 percent higher at 6,598.26 after rising as much as 6,674.66 intraday. The surge triggered a buy-side sidecar early in the session, while the junior KOSDAQ gained 2.42 p August 5, 2026

Gold investment loses steam as investor sentiment cools SEOUL, August 5 (AJP) - Interest in gold investment in South Korea is rapidly losing steam after a record-breaking run that continued until earlier this year, with trading volume and value on the Korea Exchange (KRX) gold market falling to their lowest levels in recent months. According to data released by the Korea Exchange on Wednesday, the average daily trading volume of KRX gold spot products stood at 218,708 grams in July, down 51.6 percent from 451,831 grams in June. Average August 5, 2026

Bad loans at Korea's top banks hit 7-year high SEOUL, August 05 (AJP) -South Korea's five largest banks saw bad loans climb to a seven-year high in the second quarter, driven overwhelmingly by deteriorating corporate credit quality as stress spread across lenders' balance sheets. Loans classified as "estimated loss" — the weakest asset-quality grade and the portion banks consider effectively unrecoverable after accounting for collateral and expected recoveries — totaled 1.21 trillion won ($849 milli August 5, 2026

FSC pushes back on Bloomberg's 'uninvestable' claim SEOUL, August 05 (AJP) — South Korea's financial regulator has rejected a Bloomberg column that described the country as becoming "uninvestable," saying the assessment relied on inaccurate data and overlooked the country's economic fundamentals. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) in a statement released late Tuesday said there was no basis for concerns that South Korea could be regarded as an uninvestable market, saying the country has emerged as an ir August 5, 2026

Kakao Games trims losses, eyes recovery with new lineup SEOUL, August 05 (AJP) — Shares of South Korean game developer Kakao Games fell Wednesday morning trading after the company reported lower second-quarter revenue, although its operating loss narrowed from the previous quarter. According to a filing with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Wednesday, the company posted revenue of 75.0 billion won ($54 million), down 35.2 percent from a year earlier, while its operating loss narrowed to 23.0 billion won from 25.5 billion won August 5, 2026

Chip rebound lifts KOSPI and Nikkei more than 3% SEOUL, August 05 (AJP) - A 6-percent overnight surge in U.S. semiconductor shares and a looming index-weighting change at SK hynix drove the KOSPI, the main board of the Korea Exchange, up 3.8 percent on Wednesday, with Tokyo running the same trade. The main index in Seoul rose 240.20 points to 6,599.15 in the opening minutes. The specific catalyst is SK hynix's own share count. The company issued 17.79 million new shares in a 45.45 trillion won third-party allotment to Citi August 5, 2026

Korea fine drives Coupang to biggest loss since listing SEOUL, August 05 (AJP) -Coupang Inc. posted its largest quarterly operating loss since its 2021 New York listing after a record South Korean privacy fine pushed the company deeper into the red, while weaker profitability in its core retail business showed the deterioration extended beyond the one-off regulatory charge. The New York Stock Exchange-listed company reported an operating loss of $556 million for the second quarter ended June 30, compared with operating income of $149 mil August 5, 2026

Bloomberg warns volatile South Korean stock market is 'becoming uninvestable' SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - South Korea's stock market is becoming "uninvestable" as extreme volatility erodes investor confidence in the KOSPI, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. In a column headlined "South Korea Is Becoming Uninvestable, Too," the daily's columnist Shuli Ren warned, "In recent years, global asset managers have complained that China is uninvestable, mainly over two issues - the government's policy failures and its disregard for inves August 4, 2026

KOSDAQ continues to outperform KOSPI after tightened rules on leveraged ETFs SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - South Korea's junior KOSDAQ outperformed the benchmark KOSPI for a third straight session on Tuesday, extending its broad rally. Tighter regulations on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reduced trading in chip stocks, broadening gains to biotechnology, robotics and other growth stocks. The KOSDAQ closed at 780.72 points, up 5.88 percent, while the KOSPI gained 1.62 percent to 6,358.95. The latest gain marked the third consecutive session August 4, 2026

AI startup XIIlab's shares soar as new contract fuels earnings hopes SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - Artificial intelligence (AI) startup XIIlab saw its shares rise on the junior KOSDAQ on Tuesday. The stock closed at 11,020 won (US$7.93), up 17.23 percent from the previous session, after surging as much as 30 percent during the session to hit the daily price limit of 12,220 won. The rise came after the startup announced that it had signed a contract worth 30.7 billion won with BNINC, an AI infrastructure provider, to supply software for the National IT Indu August 4, 2026