Finance

Korean stock volatility drives retail investors back to U.S. markets

Repeated sharp swings in South Korea\'s stock market are pushing retail money back into U.S. equities. Credit-financed stock balances and unsettled trading receivables have fallen, while investor deposits remain above 100 trillion won. Retail investors turned from heavy buying of SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics to net selling in late July. Net buying of U.S. shares surged, led by the 3-times leveraged semiconductor ETF SOXL. A lower won-dollar exchange rate also reduced costs.

Finance

Four major financial groups\' net profit tops 11 trillion won, competition shifts from banks to capital markets

South Korea’s four major financial holding groups posted combined first-half net profit of 11.34 trillion won, up 9.8 percent from a year earlier, helped by steady interest income and rising fee income from capital-market businesses such as securities, wealth management and investment banking. As non-bank earnings contributions expanded, the competitive focus among groups increasingly shifted to capital markets. In banking, Shinhan Bank led in net profit, while Woori Bank was the only one to decline.