Is KOSPI party over, or moving to Wall Street? SEOUL, August 28 (AJP) — South Korea's stock-market party is thinning fast. Average daily trading across the country's two equity platforms has nearly halved from June's 99.39 trillion won ($72.2 billion), cash parked in brokerage accounts has retreated sharply from its peak and the KOSPI's share turnover has sunk to the lowest level this year. Yet the missing activity does not look like a wholesale flight from Korean equities. Foreign investors still own ne August 28, 2026

Chip stocks drag KOSPI down despite Wall Street, Tokyo gains SEOUL, August 28 (AJP) - Memory chip heavyweights dragged South Korea's main stock index down 1.8 percent on Friday, despite gains on Wall Street overnight and in Tokyo. Seoul's benchmark KOSPI fell 123.49 points or 1.8 percent to close at 6,788.88. The losses were concentrated among large-cap stocks. The KOSPI 200 fell 2.1 percent, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ edged up 0.1 percent to close at 838.41. SK hynix took the heavier hit. The chipmaker fell 4.5 percent to 1,65 August 28, 2026

Korea FX deposits hit record amid SK hynix dollar wave SEOUL, August 28 (AJP) -South Korea's foreign currency deposits surged to a record in July as proceeds from SK hynix's blockbuster U.S. share sale washed through the Korean financial system while both corporations and individuals stocked up on dollars amid the won's sharp rebound. Resident foreign currency deposits at domestic foreign exchange banks stretched $15.01 billion from June to an all-time high of $128.34 billion at the end of July, according to the Bank of Kor August 28, 2026

Genians, SANDS Lab jump on AI cyberattack warning SEOUL, August 28 (AJP) - South Korean cybersecurity stocks surged Friday after more than 100 global technology and security companies warned that AI-powered cyberattacks could become far more widespread and sophisticated in the coming months. Shares of Genians, which provides security software for corporate networks and individual devices, jumped 26.76 percent to 18,330 won as of 10:55 a.m. on the KOSDAQ, after rising as much as 28.56 percent to an intraday high of 18,590 won. SAND August 28, 2026

NPS posts 27% H1 return as KOSPI doubles SEOUL, August 28 (AJP) - South Korea's National Pension Service posted a 27.22 percent return in the first half, roughly seven times the average for the same six-month period over the previous six years, as an extraordinary rally in Korean stocks propelled the fund to its strongest start in recent years. The performance came as the KOSPI more than doubled from the end of December through June before a correction began in July, leaving the latest pension report as a snapshot of r August 28, 2026

KOSPI slips on chip losses despite Nvidia rally SEOUL, August 28 (AJP) — South Korean shares retreated Friday as investors digested the Bank of Korea's back-to-back rate hikes, with losses in major chip and biotech stocks overwhelming the positive spillover from Nvidia's overnight surge. The KOSPI traded at 6,818.87, down 1.29 percent, as of 10:30 a.m. amid broad selling and thin turnover. Losers outnumbered gainers 575 to 294. Foreign investors led the outflows, selling a net 233.5 billion won ($169.1 million) August 28, 2026

Bond yields shoot up after back-to-back hike SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - South Korean government bonds staged a sharp reversal Thursday after the Bank of Korea's second straight rate hike, while the won strengthened only modestly despite closing at an 11-month high. The dollar-won rate fell 3.9 to close daytime trading at 1,380.9, its lowest level since September last year. The rate dropped as low as 1,377.3 shortly after the decision before recovering much of the decline later in the session. The BOK raised its base August 27, 2026

KOSPI closes a tad higher as Nvidia boost fades on BOK rate hike SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - South Korean stocks opened higher on Nvidia's earnings beat on Thursday but gave back most of their gains after the Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its key interest rate for a second straight time and signaled further hikes. The main KOSPI closed at 6,912.37, up 104.16 points or 1.53 percent from the previous session, after opening 2.76 percent higher at 6,996.12. The country's two major chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung Electronics kept only part of the August 27, 2026

Korea's card debt surges on increased borrowing before higher rates SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - South Korean card and insurance companies earned more in the first half as personal borrowings sought to secondary lenders due to stricter bank regulations, boding badly for household finances with lending rates set to go higher after the central bank's faster-than-expected rate hikes, government data showed Thursday. Credit and debit card purchases totaled 635.3 trillion won in the first half, up from 595.7 trillion won a year earlier, according to the August 27, 2026

KOSPI pares Nvidia rally after BOK hikes to 3% SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) — South Korea's KOSPI gave up more than half of its Nvidia-fueled early gains Thursday after the Bank of Korea (BOK) delivered a surprising back-to-back rate hike to 3 percent, tempering a rally in Korean chipmakers that had pushed the benchmark close to 7,000. The KOSPI traded at 6,864.75 as of 10:20 a.m., up 0.84 percent, after jumping more than 2 percent earlier in the session on Nvidia's bullish outlook for artificial intelligence demand and August 27, 2026