[Good Morning Stock Market] US Micron's 'Surprise Earnings'... Domestic Market Focuses on Semiconductors

As Micron Technology, known as the "semiconductor barometer," announced surprising earnings, attention is expected to be focused on the semiconductor sector in the domestic stock market.

[Image source=Getty Images Yonhap News]

On the 25th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 41,914.75, down 293.47 points (0.70%) from the previous trading day. The S&P 500, centered on large-cap stocks, fell 10.67 points (0.19%) to 5,722.26, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 7.69 points (0.04%) to close at 18,082.21.

The U.S. stock market showed mixed movements among major indices, with the Nasdaq closing slightly higher, supported by strength in semiconductors including Nvidia (2.2%), Intel (3.2%), and AMD (2.3%).

In particular, memory semiconductor company Micron posted earnings that exceeded market expectations, surging nearly 14% in after-hours trading. Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron, explained, "Strong artificial intelligence (AI) demand drove sales of data center DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM)," adding, "The NAND division also surpassed $1 billion in enterprise solid-state drive (eSSD) sales for the first time." He emphasized, "Profitability will significantly improve in the next fiscal year, achieving substantial sales," dismissing concerns about a slowdown in the memory semiconductor market raised by some.

On the other hand, amid weakness in international oil prices, large energy companies such as ExxonMobil (-2.0%) and Chevron (-2.4%), as well as mid- and small-sized energy firms like ConocoPhillips (-2.9%) and Devon Energy (-3.0%), showed declines.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Korea Index Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) fell 2.6%, and the Emerging Markets Index ETF dropped 1.1%. Eurex KOSPI 200 futures rose 0.2%.

Seokhwan Kim, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, commented on the domestic stock market, saying, "Although foreigners have sold for six consecutive trading days recently, given Micron's better-than-expected earnings in the U.S. market, foreign demand is expected to recover in the domestic semiconductor sector."

Meanwhile, regarding the Value-Up Index, Dongwon Kim, head of the KB Securities Research Center, mentioned, "Although companies have announced plans to enhance corporate value, 21 stocks currently outside the Value-Up Index have not disclosed their main plans," adding, "These companies may competitively demonstrate shareholder return intentions to be included, so the short-term price decline of non-included financial stocks could present an opportunity."

On the same day, the one-month non-deliverable forward (NDF) won-dollar exchange rate in New York was 1,334 won, and reflecting this, the won-dollar exchange rate is expected to start down 3 won.