[Good Morning Stock Market] US Stock Market Hits Record High... KOSPI Expected to Start Higher

On the 19th, the KOSPI is expected to start higher, supported by the strong performance of the New York stock market.

On the previous day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 38,834.86, up 56.76 points (0.15%) from the previous session. The S&P 500 index rose 13.80 points (0.25%) to 5,487.03, and the Nasdaq index closed at 17,862.23, up 5.21 points (0.03%).

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices reached all-time highs. Although mixed trends were observed due to concerns over a recession caused by weak U.S. retail sales, the overall indices were driven by strength in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor companies such as Nvidia.

Nvidia rose, supported by favorable reviews from Wall Street investment banks (IBs) and consecutive target price upgrades, securing the top spot in market capitalization. Nvidia's market cap reached $3.335 trillion. Semiconductor stocks including Micron, Qualcomm, and Super Micro Computer also showed strong performance.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Korea Index Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) rose 0.9%, and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF also increased by 0.9%. Eurex KOSPI 200 futures rose 0.8%. Considering this, the KOSPI is expected to start slightly higher on the day.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, “The KOSPI is expected to make a ‘three visits’ effort to break through the upper box range of 2,780 points,” adding, “The scale of net buying by foreigners in cash and futures and arbitrage trading by institutions will be important amid strong expectations for the semiconductor sector.”

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, predicted, “Despite mixed U.S. economic indicators and lingering uncertainty over Federal Reserve policies, the KOSPI will rise, supported by the strength of U.S. semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia, which has become the largest by market cap, and Micron, as well as the recovery of European stock prices.”

Another researcher added, “Although the KOSPI closed higher with some difficulty the previous day, it broke through the previous high after several attempts since May. The resulting price momentum may attract technical buying, which will be a key point to watch in the domestic stock market today.”

Meanwhile, the 1-month Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) USD/KRW exchange rate was 1,377.22 won. Reflecting this, the USD/KRW exchange rate is expected to start about 4 won lower.