[Good Morning Stock Market] Slowing After Entering 2500 Level... KOSPI Expected to Start Slightly Lower

On the 26th, the KOSPI index opened lower due to the sharp decline in the New York stock market in the United States. Dealers are busy working in the dealing room of KEB Hana Bank in Euljiro, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

On the 24th, the KOSPI is expected to start in a slightly weak range.

The New York stock market was closed the previous day in observance of Thanksgiving. European stocks mostly rose as concerns about a recession eased following news that the level of corporate activity slightly improved compared to the previous month. The Stoxx 600 index rose 0.3%, supported by strength in the energy and healthcare sectors. Novo Nordisk, Europe’s largest market cap company, showed gains of over 1% after announcing a $2.3 billion investment plan to increase production of obesity treatments such as Ozempic and Wegovy.

However, the indefinite postponement of the vote on Germany’s New Year budget, issues related to “debt control,” and the European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy meeting minutes mentioning that returning inflation to target levels could be quite difficult limited the overall market’s gains.

Eurex KOSPI 200 futures fell 0.03%. Considering this, the KOSPI is expected to start in a slightly weak range on the day. The domestic market the previous day fluctuated around the flat line, showing differentiated performance by individual stocks. European stocks also showed a slightly strong trend, but rising government bond yields limited the gains.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, “Looking at recent fluctuations in government bond yields, they showed the largest decline among major countries and there was an overshooting controversy, so a retracement cannot be ruled out. Also, with the December regular changes to KOSPI 200 and KOSDAQ 150 approaching and the results of the inclusions and exclusions being announced, an event-driven approach will be effective until the change date of December 15.”

Choi Yoo-jun, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., explained, “After the KOSPI surpassed the 2500 level, it approached a technical resistance zone, and the price momentum of the leading semiconductor stocks slowed down around the time of Nvidia’s earnings announcement. Although foreign investors have been steadily buying, the driver of the rebound is more price merit than momentum.”

He added, “Considering that the view on fundamental improvement acts as the main factor for the sustainability of demand rather than price merit, it is expected that the semiconductor and healthcare sectors will likely establish themselves as leading sectors at the point when sectoral differentiation appears.”

Meanwhile, the 1-month Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) won-dollar exchange rate in New York was 1,299.36 won. Reflecting this, the won-dollar exchange rate is expected to start about 1 won higher on the day.