IMF and ADB up South Korea's growth forecast to 2.6% for this year SEOUL, July 9 (AJP) -South Korea's economy is expected to survive global-wide setback from the prolonged Gulf crisis and run above its growth potential through next year as it benefits from feverish chip demand amid artificial intelligence investment boom, drawing one of the steepest outlook upgrades from the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank. The IMF on Wednesday raised its 2026 growth forecast for South Korea to 2.6 percent, up 0.7 percentage point July 9, 2026

Korean won falls below 1,500 vs USD first time since late May SEOUL, July 8 (AJP) - The South Korean won strengthened below 1,500 to the dollar on Wednesday for the first time in some 27 trading days, supported by dollar-selling linked to SK hynix's planned American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) listing. The won stood at 1,498 per dollar as of 3:30 p.m., moving into the 1,400 range for the first time since May 29. The move marked a sharp reversal in just three days of trading since South Korea launched 24-hour onshore dollar-won spot tradi July 8, 2026

AI peak fears hammer Asia, KOSPI for second straight session SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - A wave of panic selling triggered by fears that the AI chip boom may have peaked swept through Asia's technology-heavy markets on Wednesday, sending the KOSPI sharply lower for a second straight session and triggering sell-side sidecars on both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ as escalating Middle East tensions compounded the rout. The benchmark KOSPI tumbled 5.35 percent to 7,246.79, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ slumped 5.56 percent to 785.00. The KOSPI opened 2. July 8, 2026

Ants deserting the KOSDAQ nest for chip harvest SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) — The KOSDAQ has long been the playground of Korea's "ants," the moniker in Korea for retail investors, who dominate the country's junior stock market. Now the colony is on the move. The tech-heavy junior market, which recently turned 30, has retreated more than 10 percent so far this year, ranking among the world's weakest performers, while the benchmark KOSPI has surged more than 82 percent. Its sluggish performance owes mu July 8, 2026

KOSPI extends slide as chip conviction cracks SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - South Korean stocks fell for a third straight session Wednesday morning as foreign investors kept unwinding the semiconductor trade, a retreat that record earnings from Samsung Electronics have failed to arrest and that has now circled through Wall Street and back to Seoul. The KOSPI opened at 7,443.8, down 212.5 points, or 2.8 percent. The drop follows Tuesday's 4.9 percent plunge, which triggered the main board's sixth circuit breaker of the year, July 8, 2026

Korean retail flow suggests stock frenzy may be fizzling out SEOUL, July 07 (AJP) — Korean individual deposits at brokerage houses are thinning fast while overseas stock buying is also losing momentum, suggesting the retail stock frenzy may have peaked and the firepower that has so far sustained the KOSPI against relentless foreign selling could be running out. Investor deposits — cash held in brokerage accounts for future stock purchases — fell to 112.21 trillion won ($76.7 billion) as of Monday, according to the Korea Fina July 7, 2026

KOSPI dives nearly 5% despite Samsung's record quarterly profit SEOUL, July 7 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI plunged 4.91 percent on Tuesday, even after Samsung Electronics posted its largest-ever quarterly operating profit. Investors saw the record earnings as a sign that the memory chip boom may have already peaked, sending the index down 395.02 points to close at 7,656.31. Samsung posted a preliminary second-quarter operating profit of 8.94 trillion won, a roughly 19-fold increase from a year earlier that exceeded the market consen July 7, 2026

Won extends gains on second day of 24-hr FX trading SEOUL, July 07 (AJP) - The Korean won strengthened further Tuesday, the second day of round-the-clock trading in the domestic foreign exchange market, even as foreign investors sold local stocks. As of 12:30 p.m. (0300 GMT), the won was hovering around 1,521 per dollar, up more than nine won from the previous daytime closing level. South Korea shifted its dollar-won spot market to a 24-hour trading system on Monday, allowing continuous trading from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Saturday July 7, 2026

Investors take profit instead of celebrating Samsung Elec record Q2 SEOUL, July 7 (AJP) — South Korea's main bourse sank Tuesday along with chip giants as investors took Samsung Electronics' second-quarter earnings as a cue to take profits rather than celebrate the record performance. As of 11:00 a.m., the benchmark KOSPI had plunged 4.29 percent to 7,697.18. The junior KOSDAQ edged down 0.41 percent to 843.60. Samsung Electronics estimated second-quarter operating profit at 89.4 trillion won, a figure that could approach 10 trillio July 7, 2026

Hot Stock: Hanwha Ocean nosedives 23% upon losing Canadian sub bid SEOUL, July 07 (AJP) — Shares of Hanwha Ocean plunged Tuesday after the South Korean shipbuilder failed to secure preferred bidder status for Canada's next-generation submarine procurement program, dashing investor hopes of winning one of the world's largest submarine export deals. The stock was trading at 89,900 won as of 9:50 a.m., down 22.57 percent from the previous session after triggering a volatility curb shortly after the market opened. Shares of HD Hyundai H July 7, 2026