[Good Morning Stock Market] US Stocks End Lower on Profit-Taking, KOSPI Expected to Start Slightly Lower

The U.S. stock market closed lower in the late session due to profit-taking centered on Nvidia, while the domestic stock market is expected to start slightly lower.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 26th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31.31 points (0.08%) from the previous trading day to close at 39,282.33. The large-cap S&P 500 index dropped 14.61 points (0.28%) to 5,203.58, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed down 68.77 points (0.42%) at 16,315.70.

Last night, the U.S. stock market saw an expanded decline in the afternoon session, closing with a weak finish after a strong start. Among large tech stocks, Tesla announced it would offer its Full Self-Driving (FSD) service free for one month to U.S. users, rising nearly 3%. Krispy Kreme surged nearly 39% on news of a business partnership with McDonald's to sell donuts at McDonald's stores. The industry expects Krispy Kreme to double the number of accessible stores by 2026 through this partnership.

The durable goods orders released for February showed signs of recovery from January's slump, but U.S. consumer sentiment worsened. Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "While the evaluation of the current situation by U.S. consumers improved, their outlook for the future became more pessimistic."

The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Korea Index Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) fell 0.2%, and the Emerging Markets Index ETF dropped 0.1%. Eurex KOSPI 200 futures declined 0.4%. Considering this, the KOSPI is expected to start slightly lower due to profit-taking.

Currently, the domestic stock market continues to see a flow of net foreign buying that has persisted since the end of last year. Researcher Kim said, "Foreign net buying is raising expectations for a revaluation of the domestic stock market," but added, "However, the demand is concentrated in semiconductors, and the won-dollar exchange rate remains higher than the historical average." He further noted, "Considering domestic and international macroeconomic uncertainties, it is necessary to also consider the sustainability going forward."

Ahead of the release of the U.S. February Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index on the 29th, there is an analysis that profit-taking pressure may lead to differentiated market movements among sectors and themes. Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Except for Micron, which hit a new high in the U.S. stock market, most semiconductor stocks showed weakness, and there was a sharp increase in short-term demand concentration in biotech stocks." She analyzed, "Considering this, in a consolidation phase, it may be better to respond with small and mid-cap stocks within existing leading sectors rather than large caps, or to consider sectors that were left out of the recent strong market such as secondary batteries and platforms as alternatives."

On this day, the one-month non-deliverable forward (NDF) won-dollar exchange rate in New York was 1,342 won, and reflecting this, the won-dollar exchange rate is expected to start 2 won higher.