[Good Morning Stock Market] Focus on Samsung Electronics Earnings Announcement... KOSPI in Wait-and-See Mode

On the 7th, the KOSPI is expected to remain cautious ahead of Samsung Electronics' earnings announcement on the 8th.

On the 4th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 42,352.75, up 341.16 points (0.81%) from the previous session in the New York stock market. The S&P 500 index closed at 5,751.07, up 51.13 points (0.90%), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed at 18,137.85, up 219.37 points (1.22%).

The September employment increase announced that day significantly exceeded market expectations, easing concerns that the U.S. economy might be rapidly declining. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 254,000 in September compared to the previous month. This far exceeded the expert forecast of 150,000 compiled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate fell from 4.2% in August to 4.1% in September.

As a result, the New York stock market showed gains centered on technology stocks. Major companies such as Tesla rose 3.91%, Amazon 2.5%, and Netflix 1.83%, leading the gains, while major bank stocks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo also showed strong gains in the 3% range.

This week, the domestic stock market is expected to be influenced by the U.S. September employment surprise results, the minutes of the September U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the U.S. September Consumer Price Index (CPI), trends in the Chinese stock market, Samsung Electronics' preliminary earnings, and Tesla's robotaxi event.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Depending on the speed of inflation slowdown, the market's bets on interest rate cuts may vary, so the importance of the upcoming U.S. September CPI during the week will be higher than in the past one to two months." She added, "Furthermore, considering that oil prices surged by about 9% last week due to Middle East-related issues and that the headline CPI for October, to be announced in November, is expected to be around 2.49%, it is necessary to pay attention to geopolitical news flow related to the Middle East this week as well."

She also said, "While the September FOMC minutes and the Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Committee results are important, from a pure stock market perspective, the event to watch is Samsung Electronics' preliminary earnings scheduled for the 8th." She analyzed, "Considering that despite Micron's earnings surprise at the end of September, concerns about the memory market slowdown have not easily dissipated, and the rebound momentum of major domestic and foreign semiconductor stocks was not as strong as expected, the key will be whether Samsung Electronics' preliminary earnings announcement can somewhat improve perceptions about the market conditions and the stock price bottom."

Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "It is important whether Samsung Electronics' operating profit for the third quarter exceeds 10 trillion won." He analyzed, "Considering the extremely undervalued stock price compared to earnings forecasts and the valuation of Korean semiconductors approaching historic lows, it is necessary to keep open the possibility of entering a rebound phase."