[Good Morning Stock Market] KOSPI Nears All-Time Closing High... Will It Set a New Record?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] The KOSPI is on the verge of breaking its all-time high closing price record. With only about 9 points left to reach the highest price, attention is focused on whether it will set a new record high today.

The KOSPI rose for five consecutive days from the 28th of last month to the 3rd, reaching 3247.53. On the 4th, it closed at 3240.08, down 0.23% from the previous day, postponing the record update. This is only 9.22 points away from the all-time high closing price of 3249.30 recorded on the 10th of last month.

◆ Sang-young Seo, Researcher at Mirae Asset Securities= The strong performance of the US stock market, supported by the release of the non-farm payroll index below expectations in last week's US employment report, which eased the possibility of a Federal Reserve policy change, is a positive factor for improving investor sentiment in the Korean stock market. Additionally, considering the upward revisions of the March and April figures, concerns about economic slowdown have also eased, which is favorable. The results of the US employment report, which led to a downward stabilization of US Treasury yields, an expanded weakness of the US dollar, and a strong commodity futures market, all raise expectations for the Korean stock market to break its all-time high.

Attention should be paid to the news from the G7 summit announced over the weekend regarding the agreement on a minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. If the related agreement does not significantly affect US after-hours futures, the Korean stock market is expected to maintain its record high, but if the impact is significant, profit-taking desires may increase. The Korean stock market is likely to break its all-time high early in the session but is expected to fluctuate depending on issues with some individual stocks. The KOSPI is expected to start with a rise of 0.5 to 1.0%.

◆ Hyun-ki Chae, Researcher at Cape Investment & Securities= This week is likely to see the KOSPI index break new highs. With the US 10-year Treasury yield falling to 1.56% and the dollar index slightly declining, foreign investors are likely to flow into the Korean stock market. Considering the weak US employment figures, the strong performance of US tech stocks, and the significant rise in the semiconductor index, the semiconductor sector is expected to perform strongly. Also, given that Korea's vaccination rate (14.4%) is still rapidly increasing, momentum for the consumer discretionary sector is considered valid. In particular, the strong performance of the automobile sector, which has a high export ratio and belongs to consumer discretionary, is expected to continue.

◆ Ji-young Han, Researcher at Kiwoom Securities= The Korean stock market is expected to attempt to break its all-time high as the relief from US employment figures and the expectation of accelerated economic normalization due to the expansion of vaccination speed act as factors for midweek gains. However, caution surrounding major midweek events such as the US Consumer Price Index (May 10), the ECB June monetary policy meeting (June 10), and the domestic futures and options simultaneous expiration date (June 10) is expected to limit the index's upside. The weekly KOSPI forecast range is 3200 to 3260 points.