On May 26 (local time), European stock markets rose after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a postponement of tariffs on the European Union (EU). The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed at 550.50, up 5.37 points (0.99%) from the previous trading day. Germany's Frankfurt DAX Index jumped 398.07 points (1.68%) to close at 24,027.65, and France's Paris CAC Index rose 93.73 points (1.21%) to finish at 7,828.13.
President Trump announced that the imposition of a 50% tariff on EU imports, originally scheduled for June 1, would be postponed to July 9. As a result, most European stock markets rose, with the auto sector?highly sensitive to tariffs?showing particular strength. Volkswagen, Mercedes, and BMW all saw gains.
The domestic stock market is expected to see profit-taking at the start of trading due to the previous day's sharp rally. On the previous day, the KOSPI rose by 2.02%, while the KOSDAQ climbed by 1.30%.
Kim Ji-won, a researcher at KB Securities, explained, "The risk appetite in the overall stock market has strengthened as the trade dispute tensions that escalated over the weekend have somewhat eased following the EU tariff postponement announcement. In the domestic market, expectations for stock market revitalization policies have added to the positive momentum, resulting in a significant rise. However, there is also the possibility of profit-taking."
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Profit-taking in response to the sharp gains late in the previous session is expected to appear at the beginning of trading. During the session, the market is likely to shift to stock-specific trading, influenced by investor sentiment waiting for macroeconomic variables such as a potential further decline in the won-dollar exchange rate and the results of the U.S. 2-year Treasury auction scheduled for early tomorrow morning."
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