Foreign investors continue selling South Korean stocks while buying bonds SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - Foreign investors extended their selling streak in South Korean stocks to seven consecutive months, offloading more than 31 trillion won worth of listed shares. By contrast, they remained net buyers of domestic bonds for a fourth straight month, investing about 2.4 trillion won. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Friday, foreigners were net sellers of 31.66 trillion won worth of listed stocks in July. They sold 30.78 trillion won on August 21, 2026

SK hynix buyback, foreign buying send KOSPI up nearly 6% SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korean stocks rebounded sharply on Thursday, as a record share buyback plan sent SK hynix surging and foreign investors piled back into the country's semiconductor heavyweights following the previous day's rout. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 6,852.58 points, up 5.89 percent from the previous session, after rising as high as 6,904.55 during the day, as sharp gains in SK hynix and Samsung Electronics helped the index recover from Wednesday's August 20, 2026

Won extends gains, bonds end mixed SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - The South Korean won extended its gains against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, while government bond yields ended mixed as longer maturities drew support from a decline in U.S. Treasury yields. The won strengthened 5.1 won from the previous session to close daytime trading at 1,392.6 per dollar, compared with Wednesday's close of 1,397.7. It marked the second straight daytime close below 1,400 and the lowest closing level since Sept. 23, 2025, with the August 20, 2026

Chip equipment maker rides surprise rally in tandem with Moderna's triple-digit surge SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - Shares of semiconductor equipment maker N2TECH hit their daily limit on Thursday as investors rushed into related South Korean stocks following Moderna's positive results from a late-stage cancer vaccine clinical trial. N2TECH's shares closed at 1,925 won on the junior KOSDAQ, up 29.98 percent from the previous session. The stock opened at 1,831 won and fell as low as 1,646 won before rebounding to the daily limit. The rally came after U.S. biotec August 20, 2026

Hot Stock: SK hynix surges over 10% on 40 trillion won buyback plan SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - Shares of SK hynix surged more than 10 percent Thursday afternoon after the chipmaker announced a 40 trillion won ($28 billion) share buyback plan the previous day. Its shares traded at 1,676,000 won around 3 p.m., up 11.73 percent or 176,000 won from the previous session. The stock climbed as high as 1,720,000 won during intraday trading. The sharp rebound came a day after the shares tumbled 9.75 percent to 1,500,000 won amid a broader selloff in semicon August 20, 2026

US Treasury boosts bond buybacks as long-term yields surge SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - The U.S. Treasury has calmed a surge in long-term borrowing costs by doubling buybacks of longer-dated bonds, but the move does little to address the forces behind the selloff as Washington continues to run large deficits and federal debt pushes past US$40 trillion. The Treasury said it would raise individual buybacks in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year sectors to at least $4 billion from $2 billion, with the higher limits applying from Sept. 9 through No August 20, 2026

South Korea's net foreign assets shrink as stock rally boosts foreign-held shares SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korea's net foreign assets fell sharply to US$64 billion in the second quarter, as a stock market rally boosted the value of South Korean shares held by foreign investors, even as the country's net debt balance improved. The country's net international investment position or net IIP fell by $689.5 billion from $753.6 billion at the end of March, according to preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea on Thursday. "What matters, August 20, 2026

Listed companies see profits more than triple in H1 on chip boom SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korea's major listed companies saw their first half profits more than triple, driven by strong semiconductor earnings and broader gains across industries. According to data released earlier this week by the Korea Exchange (KRX) and the Korea Listed Companies Association (KLCA), combined revenue at 634 KOSPI listed companies rose 28.84 percent from a year earlier to 2,000.13 trillion won (US$1.4 trillion). Operating profit surged 254.15 percent t August 20, 2026

FSS to renew rules requiring collateral for OTC derivatives SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will extend rules requiring financial firms to set aside collateral for certain derivatives traded directly between financial institutions for another year, the financial watchdog said on Thursday. The rules are designed to limit potential losses and prevent problems at one financial institution from spreading to others. They were due to expire later this month but will be renewed and remain in effect from Sept. 1, aff August 20, 2026

KOSPI rebounds sharply on SK hynix's buyback plan SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI opened sharply higher Thursday, with SK hynix shares jumping more than 6 percent as the chipmaker began buying back 40 trillion won (US$28.8 billion) of its own shares. The index rose 159.10 points or 2.5 percent to 6,630.27 points shortly after the day's trading began. That recovered about two-fifths of the previous session's 398.66-point plunge, when the main index in Seoul fell 5.8 percent and the Korea Exchang August 20, 2026