U.S. President Donald Trump's new reciprocal tariff is set to take effect on the 1st, leading South Korea's stock market to begin the day with a decline. Although the Korea-U.S. trade negotiations were concluded the previous day, investors are observing the aftermath of the tariffs and have entered a period of catching their breath.
As of 9:07 a.m. that day, the KOSPI index recorded a decrease of 56.57 points (1.74%) from the previous trading day, standing at 3188.87. The KOSPI index opened at 3210.32, down 35.12 points (1.08%) from the previous session.
Stocks in the top market capitalization are in a downward trend. Major semiconductor companies Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have declined by 1.19% and 3.11%, respectively. Samsung Electronics' preferred stock is down 0.69%. LG Energy Solution, Samsung Biologics, Hanwha Aerospace, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Doosan Enerbility are also experiencing losses. In contrast, Hyundai Motor and Kia are rising.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is trading at 787.94, down 17.30 points (2.15%). The KOSDAQ index opened at 796.24, a decrease of 9.00 points (1.12%) from the previous trading day.
Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization, Alteogen is down 3.96%, and PharmaResearch has decreased by 4.31%. Ecopro BM, Ecopro, Peptron, RAINBOW, Rainbow Robotics, LigaChem Biosciences, Sam Chun Dang Pharm, and HUGEL are all also declining.
On July 31st (local time), the three major indices of the New York stock market closed lower. Microsoft (MS) and Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) started strong with good earnings, but anxiety over economic indicators and pressure from U.S. President Trump on drug prices heightened risk-averse sentiment.
On that day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the large-cap Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index finished down 23.51 points (0.37%) at 6339.39. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed down 7.23 points (0.03%) at 21,122.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which focuses on blue-chip stocks, finished down 330.30 points (0.74%) at 44,130.98 from the previous day.
That day, MS, which announced strong earnings for the second quarter, increased intra-day by as much as 8.22%, surpassing a market capitalization of 4 trillion won. This is the second time in history after NVIDIA. However, after exceeding a market cap of 4 trillion won, profit-taking sales poured in, resulting in a reduction of about half of the gain, closing up 3.93%. Similarly, Meta, which recorded 'earnings surprise', surged by 11.25%.
On that day, the won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1395.3 won, up 8.3 won from the previous trading day. (The value of the won has declined.)