[Good Morning Market] KOSPI Fluctuates Around 3,200: Will Tariff Talks Boost Momentum?

Focus on Earnings Announcements of Top KOSPI Large-Cap Stocks

On July 24, the domestic stock market is expected to attempt to re-enter the 3,200-point level on the KOSPI, reflecting optimism over tariff negotiations between the United States and major countries. A growing divergence in performance among individual stocks, driven by earnings announcements of large-cap stocks, is also anticipated.

Previously, on July 23 (local time), the New York stock market closed higher across the board on hopes for progress in trade agreements between the United States and major countries. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 45,010.29, up 507.85 points (1.14%) from the previous session. The large-cap S&P 500 rose 49.29 points (0.78%) to 6,358.91, and the tech-focused Nasdaq gained 127.33 points (0.61%) to close at 21,020.02, both setting new all-time highs.

Getty Images Yonhap News

Seo Sangyoung, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, stated, "The New York market started higher on news of a US-Japan trade agreement, and as reports emerged during trading hours that the United States and the European Union were close to reaching a trade deal, the market extended its gains, showing a focus on tariff issues." He added, "In the domestic market, attention should be paid to the release of Korea's second-quarter GDP growth rate today, as well as the outcomes of the China-EU summit."

The fact that Japan, which had been subject to the same 25% tariff as Korea, concluded negotiations at a 15% tariff is also expected to have a positive impact on domestic investor sentiment. The iM Securities Research Center commented, "This will spread expectations for domestic tariff negotiations and further boost risk appetite," predicting that the domestic stock market will start higher today. Korea's tariff negotiations are expected to take place in earnest at the Korea-US '2+2 Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting' scheduled for July 25.

Another key point to watch is the growing divergence in stock prices among major companies, driven by earnings announcements, in addition to tariffs. After the US market closed, Alphabet reported a second-quarter earnings surprise and rose by over 1% in after-hours trading, while Tesla posted an earnings shock for the second consecutive quarter and saw its stock fall by about 5% after hours.

Today in Korea, earnings announcements are scheduled for major large-cap stocks such as SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, Kia, and KB Financial.

Lee Sunghoon, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, predicted, "Today, the domestic stock market is expected to see a rotation into stocks that have been affected by tariffs, reflecting optimism over tariff negotiations." He added, "With earnings announcements scheduled for large-cap stocks, the divergence in stock prices driven by earnings results is likely to intensify." In the case of SK Hynix, preliminary figures indicate that consolidated sales for the second quarter reached 22.232 trillion won (+35.4% year-on-year), and operating profit was 9.2129 trillion won (+68.5%), already signaling a record-high quarterly performance.