HOT STOCK: Samsung Electro-Mechanics flies to No. 3 stock on KOSPI SEOUL, May 29 (AJP) - Samsung Electro-Mechanics' shares landed comfortably above 2 million won milestone Friday, flying over 15 percent to No. 3 on South Korea's main bourse — the culmination of a two-month rerating that has carried the stock from around twentieth on the KOSPI to within reach of the two trillion-won chip giants. By 1:00 p.m., the stock traded at 2,130,000 won, up 15.2 percent from the previous session, with a market capitalization just short of of May 29, 2026

KOSPI rebounds as Middle East tensions show signs of easing SEOUL, May 29 (AJP) - South Korean stocks opened higher on Friday, recovering from a brief decline the previous day, as the benchmark KOSPI climbed back above 8,400 on hopes that the prolonged conflict in the Middle East could soon come to an end. The KOSPI rose 2.31 percent to 8,374.58 shortly after trading began, nearing its recent intraday high of 8,457.09. The junior KOSDAQ, however, fell 2.31 percent to 1,078.89 as investors shifted toward large-cap stocks. The rebound follo May 29, 2026

Samsung Elec joins Anthropic funding round, fueling expectations of foundry order SEOUL, May 29 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics has taken a stake in Anthropic, the U.S. artificial-intelligence company behind the Claude model, in a deal that has raised expectations the South Korean firm will manufacture AI chips for Anthropic through its loss-making foundry business. Anthropic said on Thursday in the United States that it had raised $65 billion in a Series H funding round that valued the company at $965 billion, or about 1,440 trillion won — figures that rank am May 29, 2026

U.S. and Iran are "within reach" of a deal, news that may uplift Asian markets SEOUL, May 29 (AJP) -The United States and Iran are “within reach” of an agreement to end the three-month war that has rattled global energy markets, and the prospect of a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz may help lift Asian stocks Friday after a broad retreat the previous session. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington and Tehran “perhaps have the makings of a deal,” with negotiations centering on a 60-day framework that would gradually unwin May 29, 2026

Stocks, bonds tumble as BOK chief signals potential rate hikes in 2nd half SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - South Korea's stock and bond markets were jolted on Thursday after the Bank of Korea (BOK) hinted at potential rate hikes in the second half of the year. While the benchmark KOSPI recovered most of its intraday losses near the close on institutional interpretations of a "healthy" rate hike, government bond prices collapsed, ending sharply lower as monetary tightening was seen as almost certain. The index finished at 8,185.29, down 0.53 percent, May 28, 2026

KOSPI slips after record rally while BOK holds rate but signals hikes ahead SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - The Bank of Korea held its benchmark interest rate steady on Thursday but delivered its clearest signal yet that a tightening cycle is coming, pulling the KOSPI back from this week's record highs as traders repriced for higher borrowing costs ahead. The central bank kept its policy rate at 2.5 percent, a decision nearly every economist had expected, at the first meeting chaired by new BOK governor Shin Hyun-song. The news lay in the dissent: five of the sev May 28, 2026

AJP Focus: The day the market crowned memory — and why Korea must not mistake the jackpot for the journey SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - May 27, 2026, is likely to be recorded as a turning point in the history of both global capital markets and the artificial-intelligence industry. The day's gains were not merely another rally in technology shares. They were a symbolic demonstration of where industrial power now resides in the age of AI, of what determines national competitiveness in the twenty-first century, and of how strong companies, strong markets and strong economies form a single virtu May 28, 2026

Foreign investors collected more in Korean dividends than domestic retail in 2025 SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - Foreign investors collected a larger share of dividends from South Korean listed companies than domestic individual investors did last year, drawing 11.89 trillion won ($7.9 billion) as record corporate payouts — swollen by the semiconductor boom — flowed disproportionately to overseas shareholders. Total dividends paid by companies with December fiscal years reached 37.75 trillion won, up 16.9 percent from a year earlier, according to data releas May 28, 2026

KOSPI flattens as foreign selling and narrow breadth test record run SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI traded little changed on Thursday morning after hitting a record high the previous day, as foreign investors turned net sellers and the artificial intelligence (AI)-driven rally broadened beyond the country's two chip giants that had carried the market into batteries, displays and components. About an hour after trading began, the index stood at 8,220.63, down 0.1 percent, after briefly slipping toward 8,080 before recoveri May 28, 2026

Samsung Electronics poised to join US$2 trillion club on memory upcycle, KB Securities forecasts SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics is poised to reach a US$2 trillion market capitalization, KB Securities said Thursday, citing an intensifying memory upcycle, the chipmaker's leverage to Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin platform, and an emerging humanoid robotics strategy anchored by ties to Hyundai Motor Group. The brokerage raised its target price on Samsung to 530,000 won from 450,000 won, its second upgrade in two weeks following a 15 May revision. With the s May 28, 2026