[Good Morning Stock Market] US Stocks Fall on PPI Shock... KOSPI Also Expected to Start Lower

KOSPI Surpasses 2700 Level Yesterday
Domestic Market Maintains Optimism on AI Growth and Value-Up Expectations

Amid the overnight decline in the U.S. stock market due to a producer price index (PPI) shock and weak consumer indicators, the domestic stock market is also expected to start lower.

On the 14th (U.S. Eastern Time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 38,905.66, down 0.35% from the previous session. The S&P 500 index fell 0.29% to 5,150.48, and the Nasdaq index closed down 0.30% at 16,128.53.

The U.S. stock market closed lower after confirming higher-than-expected inflation data. However, due to strength in major platform services and software companies, the decline in the indices was limited despite the sharp rise in interest rates.

U.S. consumer indicators showed that the February PPI released by the U.S. Department of Labor rose 0.6% month-over-month, exceeding the market expectation of 0.3%. The core PPI, excluding food and energy, also increased by 0.3%, surpassing the expected 0.2%.

The consumer data released that day showed weaker-than-expected results. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. retail sales in February this year were $700.7 billion, seasonally adjusted, up 0.6% from the previous month. This was lower than the market's expected 0.8% increase but an improvement from the 1.1% decrease recorded the previous month.

By individual stocks, Nvidia's stock price fell about 9.7% from its recent high, leading to analysis that a technical correction phase is imminent. AMD's stock price also dropped about 4% that day. Super Micro Computer's stock price fell nearly 5%. Tesla also recorded a decline of over 4% for two consecutive days. Tesla's stock price has fallen about 20% this month alone.

However, in the domestic stock market, expectations for artificial intelligence (AI) growth and the government's 'Corporate Value-Up Program' and other shareholder return enhancement policies remain prevalent. In particular, market expectations increased as the KOSPI index broke through the 'magical 2700 level' the previous day.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "The KOSPI index is expected to start down 0.2 to 0.5% today."