The KOSPI index has broken through the 3,300 mark for the first time in 4 years and 2 months.

At 9:33 a.m. on the 10th, the KOSPI index hit this year's high at 3,304.84. It has been 40 trading days since it set a year-to-date high of 3,288.26 on Jul. 15. It is also the highest level since July 2021.

The KOSPI index's all-time intraday high is 3,316.08, set on Jun. 25, 2021.

Illustration = ChatGPT DALL·E /Courtesy of ChatGPT DALL·E

In the KOSPI market, foreign investors and institutions are lifting the index as they turn "buyers," with 173.4 billion won and 51.9 billion won, respectively. Individuals are net sellers of 220.3 billion won.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the No. 1 and No. 2 KOSPI market cap stocks, are both extending gains. Hanwha Aerospace, Hyundai Motor, KB Financial, and Kia are also trending higher.

Recently, as U.S. jobs data came in weak, expectations for rate cuts have grown, sending a warm breeze through global stock markets. According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch tool, participants in the U.S. federal funds (FF) futures market are pricing a 100% probability of a rate cut at the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. In particular, the possibility of a "big cut (a 0.5 percentage point reduction)" is also being discussed.

There is also talk that the Lee Jae-myung administration's tax overhaul, which had doused the stock market with cold water, could be partially improved.

The presidential office is positively reviewing a plan to keep the criteria for a large shareholder, which determines the threshold for imposing capital gains tax on stock transactions, at the current 5 billion won. The tax revision bill the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced last month included tightening the large shareholder threshold to 1 billion won, but as stock investors pushed back, opinion emerged in political circles to keep it as is.

President Lee Jae-myung is expected to state his final position on the large shareholder criteria related to stock capital gains tax at a press conference marking the 100th day in office on the 11th.

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