[Good Morning Stock Market] Tesla Surges... KOSPI Expected to Start Up 0.3%

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 30th, the KOSPI is expected to start with an increase of around 0.3% and then show limited fluctuations.

On the 27th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 33,978.08, up 28.67 points (0.08%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index rose 10.13 points (0.25%) to 4,070.56, and the Nasdaq index closed at 11,621.71, up 109.30 points (0.95%).

On the same day, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index for December rose 4.4% compared to the same period last year. This was lower than the 4.7% increase in November, raising expectations for a slowdown in inflation.

However, similar to the Consumer Price Index, the decline was centered on specific items, while service prices remained robust, which was highlighted during the day as the market showed sideways movement. Later, news broke that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, met with White House officials to discuss revitalizing the electric vehicle industry, causing Tesla's stock price to surge (+11.00%). Other electric vehicle-related sectors also showed strong gains, closing higher.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Seo Sang-young, Head of Media Content at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "The U.S. stock market's rise, driven by the sharp increase in Tesla and Lucid and the strong performance of electric vehicle-related sectors, along with large tech stocks showing strength ahead of earnings announcements, will have a positive impact on the Korean stock market. In particular, the news that Musk and senior White House officials discussed revitalizing the electric vehicle industry could positively affect related stocks."

However, he added, "The ongoing economic contraction phase, including decreased consumer spending, remains a burden. Considering that the Dow Jones index only showed a slight increase and the Nasdaq gave up some gains due to profit-taking before the close, the Korean stock market is expected to start higher but show limited fluctuations rather than expanding gains."

Meanwhile, this week is expected to be volatile due to major events such as the FOMC regular meeting, the release of Korean export data, and earnings announcements from major companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities Research Center, said, "Market participants will increasingly debate whether the stock market will move beyond a recovery mode to a sustained upward trend or enter another phase of directional exploration. From this perspective, the outcomes of the major events scheduled for this week are expected to serve as a turning point that will determine the stock price direction for the next one to two months."