[Good Morning Market] US Stocks Rise on Trump's Rate Comments... "Korea Takes a Breather Before the Holiday"

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed the need for interest rate and oil price cuts, leading to all three major indices of the New York Stock Exchange closing higher. Meanwhile, on the 24th, the Korean stock market is expected to continue a pause in trading due to sluggish trading volume ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday next week.

On the 23rd (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange, the blue-chip-focused Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) closed at 44,565.07, up 408.34 points (0.92%) from the previous trading day. The large-cap-focused S&P 500 index rose 32.34 points (0.53%) to close at 6,118.71, setting a new all-time high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index ended the day at 20,053.68, up 44.34 points (0.22%).

Reuters Yonhap News

On the same day, President Trump pressured the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), which is scheduled to decide on the benchmark interest rate on the 29th, to cut rates during his virtual speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF, Davos Forum) in Switzerland. He said, "I will demand an immediate rate cut," adding, "Interest rates must come down globally, and rates must follow us." He also expressed his intention to request Middle Eastern oil-producing countries to lower oil prices to end the war in Ukraine. Following these remarks, international oil prices closed down by around 1%.

All 11 sectors rose evenly, with industrials and real estate showing relative strength. Seojung Hoon, a researcher at Samsung Securities, analyzed, "The seven big tech (M7) stocks in the U.S. market showed mixed performance near the flat line. Nvidia, Microsoft (MS), and Amazon were slightly strong, but Apple, Alphabet, Tesla, and Broadcom were slightly weak. Meta was relatively robust, rising 2.08%."

Kim Ji-won, a researcher at KB Securities, explained, "Although some profit-taking occurred due to fatigue from consecutive rises since Trump's inauguration, the U.S. market recovered its upward momentum in the late session." She added, "While Trump's pressure for rate cuts is unlikely to lead to actual rate control, confirming the commitment to a low-interest-rate environment is positive."

The Korean stock market is expected to see some limitations in price increases ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday next week. Both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices fell by over 1% the previous day. Lee Seong-hoon, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "The Korean stock market will attempt a technical rebound as bargain hunting emerges following the sharp drop the previous day," but added, "With sluggish trading volume ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, a pause in the market trend is expected to continue."