[Good Morning Market] US Rate Cut Expectations... "Korean Stocks Expected to Open Higher"

Expectations for U.S. Rate Cut Remain Strong
AI Rally Led by Alphabet Continues
"Foreign Investor Buying Expected in Korea on AI and Exchange Rate Factors"

As the U.S. stock market closed higher on November 25, 2025, buoyed by expectations of a rate cut in December, the Korean stock market on November 26 is expected to open higher, influenced by a renewed artificial intelligence (AI) rally led by Alphabet and a decline in the won-dollar exchange rate (strengthening of the won).

On the 25th (local time), a trader is working at the New York Stock Exchange in the United States. Photo by UPI Yonhap News

On November 25 (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 664.18 points (1.43%) from the previous session to close at 47,112.45. The large-cap S&P 500 Index climbed 60.76 points (0.91%) to 6,765.88, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index gained 153.586 points (0.67%) to end at 23,025.591.

Expectations for a rate cut in December have strengthened, boosting investor sentiment. In particular, Kevin Hassett, a member of the White House National Economic Council (NEC), has emerged as a leading candidate for the next Federal Reserve (Fed) chair, further raising related expectations. Hassett is regarded as someone who favors monetary easing.

This led to gains in AI-related stocks. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, rose 1.62%. Meta jumped 3.78%, while Microsoft and Apple gained 0.63% and 0.38%, respectively. However, Nvidia fell 2.59%. Lee Sunghoon, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, explained, "As a dual leadership structure forms between the TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) camp, represented by Alphabet and Broadcom, and the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) camp, represented by Nvidia and OpenAI, TPUs are increasingly coming into the spotlight as potential alternatives to GPUs."

He added, "In the short term, Alphabet's relative outperformance is likely to continue," and expected that "as AI demand spreads, both Nvidia and Alphabet, which have core competitiveness in the AI industry, will grow together in the mid- to long-term."

Regarding the Korean stock market on this day, Lee forecasted, "The market is expected to open higher, influenced by the renewed AI momentum centered on Alphabet and the decline in the won-dollar exchange rate (strengthening of the won)." He also noted, "Despite the improvement in overall risk appetite in the market, foreign investor flows have not clearly shifted to net buying." However, he pointed out, "On a weekly basis for the KOSPI, foreign investor selling pressure has weakened since November."

He also said, "On this day, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yooncheol is expected to deliver an additional message aimed at stabilizing the foreign exchange market," adding, "It will be important to watch how the authorities' verbal intervention and the decline in the exchange rate affect the direction of foreign investor flows."