[Good Morning Stock Market] US Stocks Rise Together on 'Tariff Speed Adjustment'... Ongoing Impact on Domestic Market

"Tomorrow's Korea-U.S. Foreign Ministers' Meeting:
Focus on Tariff Discussions"

On the 13th (local time), major indices on the U.S. New York Stock Exchange closed higher across the board as buying momentum revived amid easing inflation concerns and a slowdown in reciprocal tariffs. However, the possibility of South Korea being included in the reciprocal tariff imposition list is expected to continue affecting the domestic stock market.

On that day in the New York stock market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 44,711.43, up 0.77% from the previous trading day. The S&P 500 index rose 1.04% to 6,115.07, and the Nasdaq Composite index jumped 1.50% to 19,945.64.

These indices started higher following the release of the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for January. Although it rose 0.4% month-over-month, which was higher than the expected 0.3%, the increase slowed compared to December last year (0.5%), easing inflation concerns. Subsequently, the announcement of a delay in the imposition of reciprocal tariffs by the U.S. government further expanded the gains. On the day, Howard Lutnick, nominee for U.S. Secretary of Commerce, stated, “Research will be completed by April 1, and reciprocal tariffs may begin after April 2.” The market appeared relieved as the tariff implementation was postponed beyond the original schedule, leaving room for negotiations.

Among individual stocks, Tesla led the gains with a significant rise of 5.77%. This was influenced by news of the U.S. government reviewing a $400 million contract for armored electric vehicles and reports that Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, would accompany President Donald Trump to a meeting with the Indian Prime Minister. Nvidia also rose 3.16%, and Apple jumped 1.97% amid expectations of the imminent launch of the iPhone SE. Other stocks such as Microsoft (0.37%), Amazon (0.63%), and Alphabet (1.32%) also increased. Conversely, TSMC fell 2.20% following President Trump’s remarks related to the Taiwanese semiconductor company.

The MSCI Korea Stock Market ETF and MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, closely linked to the Korean stock market, rose 2.16% and 0.64%, respectively, creating a favorable atmosphere for the domestic market. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (1.29%) showed a similar trend.

Ji-won Kim, a researcher at KB Securities, noted, “Since South Korea is highly likely to be subject to reciprocal tariffs, it is necessary to closely watch whether economic cooperation and reciprocal tariff discussions will take place at the first Korea-U.S. foreign ministers’ meeting after the inauguration of the second Trump administration on the 15th.” He added, “Also, with reconstruction-related stocks showing strength, the progress of peace negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war is another factor to watch.”