Oil surge, rate fears pull KOSPI below 7,000 SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - South Korean stocks turned lower shortly after Thursday's opening bell as oil prices above $100 a barrel and rising U.S. Treasury yields outweighed gains in selected chip and financial shares. The benchmark KOSPI fell 1.66 percent to 6,934.42 as of 10:07 a.m., extending its decline after briefly climbing to an intraday high of 7,072.79 earlier in the session. The index later fell as low as 6,929.13, dropping back below the 7,000 mark. Selling by fo September 10, 2026

Samsung's Lee buying $1.4 billion shares from mother SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong is buying nearly 1.94 trillion won ($1.4 billion) worth of shares in the technology giant held by his mother, Hong Ra-hee, in an off-market transaction next month, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. Lee plans to acquire 7,188,793 common shares from Hong, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art, at Wednesday’s finishing price of 269,500 won putting the planned transaction at 1.937 trillion won September 9, 2026

Three in 100 Korean students report school violence SEOUL, September 9 (AJP) -Nearly three in every 100 South Korean students confessed they had suffered school violence, suggesting tougher monitoring and crackdowns have yet to rein in bullying, government data showed Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Education (MOE), the share of students reporting that they had experienced school violence rose to 2.9 percent in the first nationwide survey of 2026, up 0.4 percentage point from 2.5 percent a year earlier. “As young pe September 9, 2026

KOSPI tops 7,000 as fiber trade lifts Seoul and Tokyo SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - A fiber-optic supply contract signed in the United States reshaped trading across Northeast Asia on Wednesday, lifting cable and wire makers in both Seoul and Tokyo. The rally carried South Korea's benchmark KOSPI to its first close above 7,000 since July 23. The KOSPI rose 97.12 points to 7,051.64, a gain of 1.4 percent. The KOSDAQ, South Korea's secondary board for smaller and technology-focused companies, climbed 18.49 points to 830.37, u September 9, 2026

XIIlab rises after winning NVIDIA-backed AI vision challenge SEOUL, September 9 (AJP) - South Korean artificial intelligence startup XIIlab rose nearly 5 percent Wednesday after winning a computer vision competition that tested whether models trained on synthetic images could perform effectively in real-world conditions. Shares traded at 11,760 won ($8.46) as of 2:09 p.m. on the KOSDAQ, up 4.91 percent from the previous close of 11,210 won. The stock opened at 11,800 won and climbed as high as 12,690 won during the session before giving back September 9, 2026

KRX to halt overnight derivatives trading over Chuseok SEOUL, September 9 (AJP) - Overnight trading for derivatives will be suspended during Chuseok or Korean thanksgiving, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said on Wednesday. The suspension, which comes to reduce risks for investors, will be effective from 6 p.m. on Sept. 23 to 6 a.m. the following day. Overnight transactions are normally settled together with the ones from the following day's regular session. However, because the market will be closed for one of the country's biggest September 9, 2026

Chip stocks pull KOSPI above 7,000 SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - South Korean stocks rebounded Wednesday morning, with the KOSPI climbing back above 7,000 as gains in chip heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix outweighed lingering pressure from higher oil prices and Middle East tensions. The benchmark stood at 7,039.16 as of 10:54 a.m., up 1.22 percent from the previous session. The KOSPI opened 0.26 percent higher at 6,972.87 and briefly slipped to 6,968.06 before turning higher as buying strengthened in September 9, 2026

KOSPI closes below 7,000 as higher oil prices wipe out chip-led gains SEOUL, September 8 (AJP) - South Korean stocks gave up a strong early gain on Tuesday, with the country's benchmark index closing below 7,000 points as higher oil prices and caution ahead of U.S. inflation data offset gains in chip stocks and hopes for U.S. investment projects. The KOSPI closed at 6,954.52, down 0.58 percent from the previous session. The index opened above 7,000 and climbed steadily through much of the morning, reclaiming the level intraday for the first tim September 8, 2026

Won weakens for 1st time in five sessions SEOUL, September 8 (AJP) - The South Korean won fell for the first time in five sessions on Tuesday as higher oil prices and strong demand for dollars from importers put pressure on the currency. Korean government bonds ended little changed after an early rise faded. The won closed at 1,345.6 per dollar at 3:30 p.m., weakening 5.1 won from 1,340.5 in the previous session. The currency opened at 1,344.4 and strengthened as far as 1,336.3 in morning trading before reversing course September 8, 2026

Japanese yen and bonds rally as BOJ tightening bets build SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) - The Japanese yen and long-dated government bonds rallied together Tuesday as investors priced faster tightening by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) alongside lower longer-term inflation risks. The yen strengthened as far as 152.89 per dollar, its strongest level since Feb. 17, before returning to around 153.3. Japan's 10-year government bond yield fell 4 basis points to 2.890 percent in morning trading. Ataru Okumura, senior rate strategist at SMBC Nikko September 8, 2026