The won-dollar exchange rate stood at 1,425.1 won as of 9 a.m. on the 30th. That was down 12.3 won from the prior trading day's weekly closing price (1,437.4 won).
It is seen as the result of risk appetite recovering in the market after U.S. stocks in New York rose across the board overnight. When investors' demand to invest in risk assets grows, the value of the won, which is not a key currency, tends to rise.
On the 30th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 613.92 points, or 1.19%, to close at 52,208.06. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 gained 121.48 points, or 1.66%, to 7,437.63, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 679.24 points, or 2.78%, to 25,122.18.
New York stocks closed higher that day on the back of strong results from Microsoft. After the close the previous day, Microsoft said revenue for the fourth quarter (April–June) of fiscal 2026 came in at $90.01 billion. That far exceeded the market estimate of $87.62 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) also topped the market forecast ($4.24), at $4.74. Microsoft, which released a surprise earnings report, jumped 15.51% on the 30th.
Moon Da-un, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities Co., said, "The lower bound of the exchange rate will fall further through August," adding, "We expect a trend of a weaker dollar as the U.S. economic slowdown becomes more evident."