South Korea Financial News

Sensex surged 1,383.93 points, or 2.05%, to end at 68,865.12, while the Nifty closed 418.90 points, or 2.07%, higher at 20,686.80. “We expect market sentiment to strengthen further as the ongoing pre-election rally is quite strong now. Given the government’s focus approach towards long-term capex across key areas, we expect BFSI, Industrials, Real Estate, Auto and Consumer Discretionary to do well going forward," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

China, Japan, and South Korea are forging ahead with plans to enhance collaboration in advanced technology sectors such as big data, blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI). 

South Korea has launched its first military spy satellite, a little over a week after rival North Korea claimed to put its own spy satellite into orbit for the first time

Asian shares are mixed as investors await a slew of U.S. economic data set for release later in the week

By Summer Zhen

By Wayne Cole

Indian Navy has planned to deploy both its aircraft carriers INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant on the eastern seaboard during Milan-2024, a flagship international naval exercise hosted by Vizag from February 19-27 next year, a senior official said on Sunday. «The event will be held under the aegis of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) of the Indian Navy with likely participation from nearly 50 friendly countries as a delegation, and 20 foreign warships along with one maritime patrol aircraft,» said Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, Flag-Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) Eastern Naval Command.

Bank of India (RBI) forecasts retail inflation to average 5.4% in 2024-25. That would make it four straight years of higher inflation than RBI’s target of 4%. While inflation remains on the higher side, economic growth, though robust, has not been in double digits since the pandemic and was muted before that, but India’s employment rate has increased, according to Periodic Labour Force Surveys (PLFS) data.

Deadly Quiet City. By Murong Xuecun. New Press; 336 pages; $27.99.

North Korea has begun reconnaissance satellite operations, state news agency KCNA said on Sunday, after the country launched its first military spy satellite last month in a move that drew new sanctions from the U.S. and its allies. The new satellite operations office at the Pyongyang General Control Centre of the National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA), started to discharge its mission on Saturday and will report acquired information to the reconnaissance bureau at the army and other major units, KCNA said. North Korea says it successfully launched its first military spy satellite on Nov.

Melon Music Awards 2023 is a well-known awards ceremony that takes place in South Korea. The 2023 award show was organized by Melon, and Kakao Entertainment to orchestrate the event, which was broadcast via Melon and Wavve in South Korea, Abema in Japan, and Beyond Live in specific regions. This year's Melon Music Award marked the 14th annual event in the show's history. Further, the award ceremony took place on December 2, 2023. An Yu-jin took on the role of hosting the ceremony, while the pre-ceremony red carpet event was hosted by Hitomi Honda, Nako Yabuki, and Ha Ji-young. The award show was premiered on various OTT platforms including Melon, Wavve, and Abema. Further, since the event has already taken place, there are various celebrities along with artists that have bagged awards including NewJeans, BTS, and Jungkook.

full-time job offers, including pre-placement offers, with around 450 unique selections by the end of Day 1 of the placement season on Friday. Many students also received multiple job offers. Like many old IITs, the ongoing placement season at IIT Delhi for the academic year 2023-24 kicked off on December 1 and will continue till May for full-time hiring of undergraduate and postgraduate students.

United States led calls at UN climate talks Saturday for efforts to curb methane emissions but also pushed a deeply controversial drive to boost nuclear energy to curb global warming. With smoggy skies in Dubai highlighting the challenges facing the world, other pledges are expected at the COP28 conference, including stepping up the deployment of renewable energy. The use of nuclear power as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels is highly controversial as environmental groups are concerned about safety and the disposal of nuclear waste. But more than 20 nations ranging from the US to Ghana, Japan and several European countries said in a declaration that it plays a «key role» in the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by mid-century. They called for the tripling of nuclear energy capacity by 2050 from 2020 levels. «We are not making the argument to anybody that this is absolutely going to be a sweeping alternative to every other energy source,» US climate envoy John Kerry said at COP28. «But we know because (of) the science and the reality of facts… that you can't get to net zero 2050 without some nuclear,» he said. The other signatories include Britain, France, South Korea, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates.

US-North Korea ties plummeted further on Saturday after Pyongyang threatened Washington with retaliatory action if its spy satellite is attacked. In a hard-hitting statement, it has warned the US that any attack on its spy satellite will be considered a «declaration of war». The Defense Ministry said North Korea would consider taking «responsive action measures» for self-defense to undermine or destroy the viability of the US spy satellites. An unnamed ministry spokesman told journalists, «The U.S. Space Force's deplorable hostility toward the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s reconnaissance satellite can never be overlooked as it is just a challenge to the sovereignty of the DPRK, and more exactly, a declaration of war against it.»

equity gauges Friday towered above shrinking benchmarks in export-focused Asian economies to leap to a record, with higher-than-expected economic growth, softer energy prices and subdued US bond yields drawing both overseas and local funds to domestic risk assets. Traders have factored in victories for the BJP in the latest round of state polls and their results, to be announced Sunday, may have a bearing on the short-term directional trend for stocks, although most analysts believe the indices will climb through December. The Nifty gained 134.75 points, or 0.67%, to close at 20,267.90, after an intraday high of 20,291.55. The Sensex climbed 492.75 points, or 0.74%, to close at 67481.19.

Netflix has officially greenlit the production of the second season for the zombie-based reality competition game show, Zombieverse. The announcement surfaced on Netflix's K-content account through a social media post: “ZOMBIEVERSE is renewed for season 2! The world is a zombieverse, and we’re all just living in it, right? Expect upgraded quests, enhanced zombies, a new cast, and an expanded universe.” The debut season, which premiered on August 8, 2023, unfolded in Seoul and showcased participants testing their survival skills amid a simulated zombie outbreak. Contestants engaged in challenging quests to prove their mettle in the face of adversity. The show had a notable presence in global and South Korean Netflix rankings. During its launch week, it secured a position in the global top 10, accumulating 14.3 million hours watched and claiming the fifth spot in the Non-English series category. FlixPatrol data indicates that Zombieverse maintained its popularity in South Korea, residing in the country's top 10 for an impressive 17 days. This success aligns with a trend of South Korean reality series achieving significant viewership, evident in the renewals of The Devil’s Plan and Physical: 100 for their second seasons. Single’s Inferno is also slated to return for a third season in the near future. With the confirmed renewal, fans can anticipate an array of enhancements in Zombieverse season 2, including upgraded quests, more formidable zombies, a fresh cast, and an expanded universe.

Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies kept to a tight range on Friday, while the dollar rebounded from 3-½ month lows in anticipation of more cues on interest rates from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. 

By Stella Qiu

By Leika Kihara

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) -The United States on Thursday targeted North Korea with fresh sanctions after its launch of a spy satellite last week, designating foreign-based agents it accused of facilitating sanctions evasion to gather revenue and technology for its weapons of mass destruction program.

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks retreated on Friday, seeing a measure of profit taking after clocking strong gains through November, with focus now turning to an upcoming address from Fed Chair Jerome Powell for more cues on interest rates.