[Good Morning Stock Market] US Stocks Fall Amid Tariff Policy Fatigue... Korean Market Maintains Watchful Stance

U.S. President Donald Trump’s formal announcement of a 25% tariff on imported cars led to a two-day consecutive decline in the U.S. stock market amid concerns over inflation and economic recession. Given the potential for increased volatility in the domestic stock market, a selective approach is necessary.

On the 27th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 42,299.70, down 155.09 points (0.37%) from the previous day. The S&P 500 fell 18.89 points (0.33%) to 5,693.31, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 94.98 points (0.53%) to 17,804.03.

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

On this day, the U.S. stock market appeared to freeze investor sentiment as fatigue over President Trump’s policy confusion accumulated. While President Trump announced a 25% tariff on all imported cars and car parts the day before, he also hinted during a press conference at the possibility of reducing tariffs imposed on China, causing policy uncertainty.

By sector, only consumer staples rose by 1%, while consumer discretionary and healthcare were slightly up. All other sectors declined.

The "Magnificent 7," referring to the group of major tech companies, showed mixed results. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Tesla were strong, but Nvidia fell 2.05%, and Meta and Alphabet also recorded declines in the 1% range. Stocks of AI and semiconductor companies also fell across the board. TSMC, AMD, and Broadcom dropped around 4%.

Tesla surged more than 7% intraday on expectations of a windfall from the 25% auto tariff but gave up most of the gains by the afternoon.

Traditional U.S. automakers saw investor sentiment dampened by the tariff pressure. General Motors (GM) shares fell more than 7% amid analysis that a significant portion of its vehicles sold in the U.S. are assembled in Canada and Mexico and imported. Ford dropped nearly 4%, and Stellantis declined by about 1%.

On the 28th, the domestic stock market is expected to see some bargain hunting funds flowing mainly into large-cap stocks amid perceptions of excessive declines the previous day. However, with the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index for February due that night, the mutual tariffs effective on March 2, and the resumption of short selling domestically on the 31st, a cautious market stance is expected to continue.

Regarding the direction of the KOSPI, securities analysts emphasized the need to pay attention to Samsung Electronics’ stock performance.

Seonghun Lee, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Reflecting expectations of an early turnaround in the memory market driven by a recent rebound in DRAM prices, foreign investors have been net buyers of Samsung Electronics by about 1.7 trillion won since March." He added, "Despite the KOSPI falling about 1.4% the previous day, Samsung Electronics rose 0.7%, supporting the downside of the index," and “the key point to watch will be whether consistent foreign inflows into Samsung Electronics can continue.”