New York stocks fall amid concerns over AI tech stock overvaluation…Large daily temperature range [Morning Briefing]

◆ New York stock market: major indices fell amid concerns over AI tech stock overvaluation…Nasdaq down 2%

The three major New York stock indexes all fell on the 4th local time. The decline came as concerns grew over overvaluation centered on artificial intelligence (AI)-related sectors. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell by more than 2%. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 47,085.24, down 251.44 points (-0.53%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index recorded 6,771.55, down 80.42 points (-1.17%), and the Nasdaq closed at 23,348.64, down 486.09 points (-2.04%).

◆ International oil prices fall for first time in five days…risk aversion and strong dollar impact

International oil prices fell for the first time in five trading days. In global financial markets, a shift toward risk-off sentiment and a stronger dollar appeared to weigh on oil prices. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, December-delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed at 60.56 dollars per barrel, down 0.49 dollars (0.80%) from the previous session. This is the first time WTI has closed lower since the 28th of last month.

◆ Market cap of Korea’s top 10 companies up 103.8% this year…ranked No. 1 among Korea, U.S., Japan

This year, the market capitalization of the top 10 companies in major countries including Korea, the U.S., Japan, and Taiwan all rose compared with last year, with Korea showing the highest growth rate. CEO Score, a corporate data research institute, examined the market cap growth rates of the top 10 companies in Korea, the U.S., Japan, and Taiwan, and found that Korea’s market cap increased from 761.9 trillion won at the end of last year to 1,552.5 trillion won as of the end of October this year, an increase of 103.8%. Among domestic companies, Doosan Enerbility showed the largest market cap increase. During this period, Doosan Enerbility’s market cap surged from 11.2 trillion won to 56.8 trillion won, a jump of 405.4%. Taiwan ranked second in market cap growth rate after Korea.

◆ Foreign exchange reserves at the end of October reach 428.82 billion dollars, up by 6.8 billion dollars…fifth consecutive month of increase

At the end of last month, foreign exchange reserves increased by 6.8 billion dollars from the previous month, helped by higher investment returns. The Bank of Korea said that as of the end of October, the country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at 428.82 billion dollars, up 6.8 billion dollars from the end of August. After falling to a five-year low at the end of May (404.6 billion dollars), reserves have been on the rise for five consecutive months. A Bank of Korea official explained that the increase was due to higher investment returns and the new issuance of foreign currency-balanced fund bonds.

◆ Coupang’s Q3 operating profit rises 51.5% to 224.5 billion won…revenue approaches 12 trillion won

Coupang Inc., the U.S. NYSE-listed parent company of Korea’s Coupang, disclosed that its Q3 operating profit was 224.5 billion won (162 million dollars · based on the quarterly average exchange rate of 1,386.16 won), a 51.5% increase from the same period last year. Q3 revenue was 12.8455 trillion won (9.267 billion dollars), up 20% and marking a quarterly record. Net income was 131.6 billion won (95 million dollars), up 51%.

◆ Intelligence Committee holds counterintelligence command hearing today…’Role in emergency martial law’ at issue

The National Assembly’s concurrent standing committees — the Steering Committee, the Intelligence Committee, and the Gender Equality and Family Committee — will each hold hearings with their respective agencies today. The Steering Committee will audit the National Human Rights Commission, the National Assembly Secretariat, the Budget and Policy Office, and the Legislative Research Office, among others. The Intelligence Committee will audit the Defense Intelligence Headquarters, the Military Counterintelligence Command (Counterintelligence Command), and the Cyber Operations Command. At the Intelligence Committee hearing, partisan clashes are expected over allegations that the Counterintelligence Command played a central role during the Dec. 3 emergency martial law and over the issue of reorganizing the Counterintelligence Command.

◆ Mostly clear with dense inland fog…beware of large daily temperature swings around 15°C

On Wednesday the 5th, the country will be mostly clear, but Jeju Island will be mostly cloudy. Dense fog is expected in inland areas until the morning, so caution is advised for traffic safety. From daytime onward, temperatures are expected to be similar to or slightly higher than normal (normal lows 1–11°C, highs 15–20°C). The temperature difference between day and night will be large, around 15°C. Daytime temperatures are forecast at 16–22°C.

Oh Jeong-min, Hankyung.com reporter blooming@hankyung.com