Surplus Streak Continues for 23 Months Despite Tariff War... April Sees Recessionary Surplus [3-Minute Brief]

① Bank of Korea releases preliminary March 2025 balance of payments
② Trump lashes out at Powell for holding rates steady
③ SOL Cosmetics TOP3 Plus jumps 29.05% in one month

MARKET INDEX : Year to date

○ April CPI to be released on the 13th... Concerns over stagflation
○ "Rising car prices and tariffs will be key channels to watch"
○ Wall Street focuses on consumer price index and retail sales data

Top3 NEWS

■ 23 consecutive months of current account surplus, $9.14 billion in March... "U.S. tariff shock makes forecast revision inevitable"

○ Semiconductor exports turn to growth... Trade surplus widens
○ End of peak overseas travel season during school holidays... Travel account deficit narrows
○ First quarter current account surplus at $19.26 billion, up 16.9% year-on-year

■ Trump lashes out at Powell over tariffs: "He knows nothing... No inflation"

○ Fed keeps rates unchanged for third consecutive time despite Trump's pressure
○ "All prices, including oil, are falling... Money pouring in from tariffs"
○ On social media, Trump writes, "I like Powell, but he is an idiot"

■ K-beauty boom boosts cosmetics ETFs

○ Cosmetics ETFs post over 20% returns in the past month
○ K-beauty stocks hit record highs one after another
○ Strong exports and earnings underpin stock rally

Graphic News: From Apple to GM... U.S. companies lose billions due to Trump tariffs

○ GM: $5 billion a year... Nvidia: $5.5 billion per quarter
○ "Uncertainty" mentioned 9,000 times in earnings reports... Concerns at their peak
○ Corporate concerns over tariff impact reach all-time high

the Chart "Cutting drivers first"... Banks tighten belts despite record earnings

○ Cost-cutting through sale of idle real estate and reduction of business expenses
○ More households and companies unable to repay debts due to recession
○ Profitability deteriorates and delinquency rates soar

Key Schedule Today

○Domestic

KOSDAQ: Lokit Healthcare listing, confirmed IPO price at 11,000 KRW

KOSDAQ: Dalba Global subscription, confirmed IPO price at 66,300 KRW

○International

08:50 Japan Current Account (March, seasonally unadjusted)

19:00 Eurozone Finance Ministers Meeting

19:30 India Consumer Price Index (YoY) (April)

◇ Lunchtime & Evening Commute Weather

○ Lowest temperature: 10°C (▼5°C) | Highest temperature: 23°C (▲7°C)
○ Precipitation probability: Morning 0% | Afternoon 0%
○ Fine dust: Moderate in the morning | Moderate in the afternoon

Three minutes is all you need: essential, cost-effective economic news. Published daily at 8 a.m.