Latest news with #Kospi200
Korea Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
HLB appoints Brian Kim as CEO of US subsidary Elevar Therapeutics
Korean biopharmaceutical firm HLB said Wednesday it has appointed Brian Kim, current CEO of HLB Innovation and Verismo Therapeutics, as CEO of its US subsidiary, Elevar Therapeutics. Kim will lead all three companies concurrently. HLB said the leadership change is a strategic move to align with the skills needed at each stage of drug development, particularly as Elevar prepares to enter the commercialization phase and expand global partnerships with big pharma. Kim holds extensive experience in finance, strategic business management and biotechnology, including research in CAR-T cancer treatments and founding multiple biotech firms. A former tenured clinical professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Kim was a founding member of Nasdaq-listed Inovio Pharmaceuticals. He has invested in various businesses, including acquiring a Kospi-listed company and elevating it into the Kospi 200 index. Kim also has invested in and led several biotech ventures in both the US and Korea. 'I feel a deep sense of responsibility taking on this role at such a pivotal moment,' Kim said. 'My focus will be on securing regulatory approval for Elevar's lead liver cancer therapy and ensuring its successful commercialization, while driving sustainable growth for the company.' HLB added that Kim's leadership will help accelerate Elevar's global business expansion and innovation in oncology therapeutics.
Bloomberg
12-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Korean Stock Hedges Cheapen With $3.2 Billion of Bullish Bets
South Korea's presidential election last week has sparked the biggest equity surge in more than four years. Options traders are betting there's more to come. As the Kospi 200 Index rallied 8.4% in the past six days, the cost of hedging against declines has tumbled. The measure known as skew is now hovering around its lowest level since last July after a series of newly created, big bullish options block trades.
Bloomberg
05-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trader Spends $755 Million to Bet on More Gains in Korean Stocks
A trader spent around $755 million in options betting South Korea's stock rally has more to go after this week's election ended months of political uncertainty. An opening block of more than 11,000 bullish contracts on the benchmark Kospi 200 Index changed hands in late trading Wednesday for more than 1 trillion won in notional. The calls, expiring July 10, have an exercise level of 385, implying a 4.1% gain from the last close.
Korea Herald
10-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Seoul shares rally over 6% on US reciprocal tariff pause; Korean won soars
South Korean stocks rallied 6.6 percent Thursday as the US administration's temporary pause of reciprocal tariffs on South Korea improved market sentiment. The Korean won was trading sharply higher against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soared 151.36 points, or 6.6 percent, to close at 2,445.06, sharply rebounding from the 17-month low the previous day. Shortly after the stock market opened, the bourse operator issued a sidecar order at 9:06 a.m., halting program purchasing for five minutes, after the Kospi 200 futures soared 5 percent for more than one minute. Trade volume was a bit heavy at 661 million shares worth 10.9 trillion won ($7.5 billion), with winners far outperforming losers 873 to 47. Foreigners and institutions purchased local shares worth 324.4 billion won and 676.2 billion won, respectively, while retail investors dumped a combined 1.07 trillion won. Overnight, Wall Street posted one of the best days since the global financial crisis in 2008, with the S&P 500 surging 9.5 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring 7.87 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite skyrocketing 12.16 percent. The rally came after US President Donald Trump lowered new tariffs on South Korea and other trading partners to 10 percent in what he calls a pause that will last for 90 days. He said the decision was made considering they have reached out to US trade officials for negotiations and have not retaliated against the reciprocal tariffs. Meanwhile, Trump increased duties on China to 125 percent following Beijing's announcement of a plan to raise tariffs on US goods to 84 percent in a retaliatory move. "Concerns turned to relief after the Trump announced a 90-day pause of reciprocal tariffs for countries other than China," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said. "Shares related to semiconductor, defense, electricity and mobile phone components, in particular, led the Kospi's sharp rebound," he added. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 6.42 percent to 56,400 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix shot up 11.03 percent to 183,200 won. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution soared 11.31 percent to 349,500 won, tracking Tesla's jump overnight, and top automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 5.06 percent to 187,000 won. Major shipbuilders HD Hyundai Heavy and Hanwha Ocean went up 10.39 percent and 6.56 percent to 324,000 won and 73,100 won, respectively. Top container shipper HMM increased 8.03 percent to 19,110 won, and major defense firm Hanwha Aerospace climbed 7.09 percent to 740,000 won. Financial shares also sharply gained ground, with KB Financial jumping 7.05 percent to 75,900 won and Shinhan Financial rising 5.5 percent to 46,000 won. Kakao, the operator of the country's dominant mobile messenger, also gained 7.67 percent to 40,000 won. The local currency was quoted at 1,456.4 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 27.7 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
10-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Tariff blow sinks Kospi, clouds growth outlook
The South Korean benchmark Kospi sank below the threshold of 2,300 points for the first time in 17 months, suffering a blow from the angst surrounding "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the US. Coupled with the stock market's slump, the value of the Korean won against the US dollar further weakened past 1,480 won. As 25 percent tariffs on Korean goods imported to the US took effect Wednesday as previously scheduled, the Kospi closed daytime trading at 2,293.7, sliding 40.53 points, or 1.74 percent, according to data from the Korea Exchange. It was the first time the index had dropped below the 2,300 mark since Nov. 1, 2023. The index kicked off trading at the opening bell at 2,329.99, but losses deepened through the session, dipping to as low as 2,284.72. Foreign investors deepened the market's loss by dumping shares worth 1 trillion won ($677 million) on the Kospi, while institutional investors net sold 70 billion won. Retail investors were the sole buyers, racking in shares worth 939 billion won. The secondary bourse Kosdaq closed daytime trading at 643.39, losing 15.06 points or 2.29 percent on-day. It was the first time the Kosdaq dropped below the 650 threshold since Dec. 9, 2023. The plunge comes two days after a sidecar — a five-minute halt on program trading — was activated on Kospi 200 futures on Monday, as the Kospi fell below 2,400. With the bearish bourse, market bellwethers Samsung Electronics closed trading at 53,300 won, down 0.19 percent, while SK hynix wrapped the session up at 165,000 won, down 2.65 percent. Amid heightened tension between the US and China sparked by US President Donald Trump's tariffs, investors are shifting to low-risk assets, weighing pressure on the Kospi. The US' 25 percent tariff imposition on Korea casts a cloud over its export-dependent economy, as higher tariffs drive up the manufacturing expenses. The 46 percent tariff levied on Vietnamese goods is also likely to negatively impact Korean companies like Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, considering the Southeast Asian country serves as a key production hub for the tech giants. Experts predict the tariffs could hold back the overall growth of the Korean economy, which has already been suffering from a slowdown in private consumption. KB Securities estimated that Trump's tariffs could pull down Korea's growth rate by up to 0.4 percentage point. The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy also projected that Korea's total exports could shrink by $44.8 billion if the US imposes a 20 percent tariff on all countries. The impact could be bigger still, as the actual tariffs that materialized are higher. Pricing in similar concerns, other stock markets in Asia were also deep in the red. Benchmark indices of major Asian economies such as Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong suffered a roughly 4 percent loss. Foreign investors' continued selling spree on the stock market also pulled down the local won's value per dollar. The Korean won's value per greenback reached 1,487.6 won during daytime trading Wednesday, weakening to its worst figure since hitting a high of 1,492 won on March 16, 2009. It even surpassed the recent intraday trading peak set at 1,487.2 won on Dec. 27. The won eventually closed daytime trading at 1,484.1 won per dollar, devaluing by 10.9 won on-day. The won's depreciation is being exasperated by the devaluation of the Chinese yuan, as the local currency is treated as the yuan's proxy. The offshore yuan fell to its weakest level on record upon speculation of China easing its grip on the currency in an attempt to offset the blow to exports amid the intensified trade war. 'If the US-China currency war intensifies and the Chinese yuan further weakens, the won-per-dollar rate is more likely to surpass the 1,500 won threshold,' iM Securities analyst Park Sang-hyun said.
