[Morning Briefing] U.S. stocks rebound on falling oil… Trump presses for 'Hormuz deployment'

◆ Investor sentiment improves after hitting a 'year-to-date low'

On the 16th (local time), all three major U.S. stock indexes in New York rebounded in tandem. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 46,946.41, up 0.83% from the previous session; the S&P 500 rose 1.01% to 6,699.38; and the Nasdaq advanced 1.22% to finish at 22,374.18. The three indexes had extended losses after the outbreak of the Iran war, and in the prior session the Dow and the S&P 500 hit year-to-date lows. However, falling international oil prices and rising expectations that shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will resume appear to have helped improve investor sentiment that had deteriorated. Still, there is also an assessment that considerable uncertainty remains over whether this rebound can be sustained.

◆ Trump calls on South Korea and others for 'Hormuz deployment'

U.S. President Donald Trump on the 16th (local time) again mentioned South Korea and others, urging them to join an operation to escort vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. As Europe balks at calls for a Hormuz deployment, he stressed that the United States has supported allies’ security and pressured allies—especially countries hosting U.S. forces—to decide on sending troops. Citing factors such as reliance on energy passing through the Strait of Hormuz and the presence of U.S. troops, Trump called for the dispatch of warships, a benchmark that includes South Korea and Japan—suggesting substantial potential pressure on them.

◆ Trump: "Requested a delay to the U.S.-China summit"

Trump said he asked China to postpone his planned visit to Beijing scheduled for the end of this month. Responding to reporters’ questions on the 16th (local time) about whether a U.S.-China leaders’ summit would be held, he said he needs to be in the United States due to military operations against Iran and that he "requested a delay of about a month." Trump had originally planned to visit China from the 31st of this month to the 2nd of next month to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

◆ Yoon Suk Yeol and Kim Keon Hee to appear in court side by side

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife will appear today (17th) at the Seoul Central District Court. With the first formal hearings set to open on allegations of Yoon’s 'free-of-charge opinion polls'—indicted by Special Prosecutor Min Jung-gi’s team—and suspicions involving First Lady Kim Keon Hee’s 'selling offices for money,' Kim is to appear in court in the morning and Yoon in the afternoon. Seoul Detention Center, where Yoon is being held, and Seoul Southern Detention Center, where Kim is staying, are expected to coordinate so that the two do not share overlapping routes within the courthouse.

◆ Daytime highs of 12–19°C… big temperature swings

Today, Tuesday, will be mostly clear nationwide before turning gradually cloudy from night. Morning temperatures will drop below freezing, with frost possible in some areas, but daytime highs will rise to 12–19°C, producing a wide diurnal temperature range. Fine-dust levels are expected to be 'bad' in the Seoul metropolitan area, Yeongseo in Gangwon, Chungcheong, and Honam, and 'moderate' elsewhere; Daegu, North Gyeongsang, and South Gyeongsang are forecast to be 'bad' from morning through late afternoon.

Kim Bong-gu, Hankyung.com reporter kbk9@hankyung.com