[Morning Briefing] Trump's Tariffs and NVIDIA Concerns 'Shake' US Stock Market... 'Mild' Day with High of 18°C

◆ New York Stock Market Falls on Trump's Tariffs and NVIDIA Earnings Concerns

The New York stock market closed lower on the 27th local time due to US President Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China, as well as concerns about NVIDIA's earnings outlook. On this day, the Dow Jones 30 Industrial Average closed at 43,239.50, down 193.62 points (-0.45%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index closed at 5,861.57, down 94.49 points (-1.59%) from the previous session, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed at 18,544.42, down 530.84 points (-2.78%) from the previous session. NVIDIA, which announced its earnings after the market closed the previous day, plunged 8.5% on concerns about its earnings outlook. Although NVIDIA reported earnings that exceeded expectations, the market sentiment reversed as concerns about NVIDIA's future earnings were raised due to the US-China trade war and other factors. Tesla also fell more than 3%, while Apple dropped 1.27% and Microsoft (MS) fell 1.8%. Google's parent company Alphabet also plunged nearly 2.6%, with tech stocks leading the decline. Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, diagnosed that "NVIDIA's earnings were good, but they failed to alleviate fears that AI market returns may not be as strong as investors thought."

◆ Trump: "10% Additional Tariff on China if Drug Influx Not Stopped"

US President Donald Trump announced that if the synthetic drug problem entering the United States is not resolved or significantly improved, he will implement the suspended 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico as scheduled on March 4 local time, and impose an additional 10% tariff on China on the same day. In a post on social media on the 27th local time, President Trump mentioned the responsibility of China, Canada, and Mexico regarding the influx of the synthetic drug fentanyl into the United States, stating, "We cannot allow this calamity to continue harming the United States," and added, "Until it is stopped or greatly restricted, the tariffs proposed to take effect on March 4 (targeting Mexico and Canada) will take effect as scheduled." He also added, "Similarly, an additional 10% tariff will be imposed on China on the same day (March 4)." Initially, President Trump had announced that he would impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on China from February 4. However, when Mexico and Canada agreed to cooperate on strengthening border security to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs, he postponed the 25% tariffs on the two countries for one month, and only implemented the additional 10% tariff on China on the 4th. Subsequently, China retaliated by imposing retaliatory tariffs on some US products from the 10th. Meanwhile, confusion is growing as President Trump's statements regarding tariffs have been inconsistent.

◆ Unsold Housing Reaches 23,000 Units... Highest in 11 Years and 3 Months

The number of 'problematic unsold' homes that remain unsold after completion has approached 23,000 units, the highest in 11 years and 3 months. According to the 'January Housing Statistics' released today by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of unsold homes nationwide as of the end of last month was 72,624 units, an increase of 3.5% (2,451 units) from the previous month. The entire increase came from the metropolitan area. In the metropolitan area alone, 2,000 more units were added in a month, bringing the number of unsold homes to the 72,000 range. 86% of the 'problematic' unsold homes that increased last month occurred in provincial areas. In particular, Daegu's problematic unsold homes (3,075 units) increased by 401 units, and Busan's (2,268 units) increased by 382 units. The government announced plans on the 19th for the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) to purchase 3,000 unsold units in provincial areas and to promptly launch a CR REIT (Corporate Restructuring Real Estate Investment Trust) to purchase unsold provincial properties, but market reaction has been lukewarm. Industry evaluations mainly criticize the lack of tax benefits such as acquisition tax and capital gains tax reductions that the industry has been demanding, and the small volume of LH purchases. Moreover, in the impeachment climate where politics are in turmoil, even if the government introduces additional tax benefits, it cannot guarantee the passage of tax law amendments through the National Assembly. Additionally, mid-sized construction companies such as Sambu Construction and Ingang Construction have been filing for court receivership one after another since the beginning of this year. The industry expects the number of construction companies filing for court receivership or going bankrupt in the first half of the year to increase.

◆ 63 High-Ranking Officials Disclose Assets, Korea South-East Power CEO Kang Ki-yoon Has 15.1 Billion Won

The Government Public Ethics Committee disclosed the assets of 63 high-ranking public officials whose status changed from November 2 to December 1 last year through the official gazette on the 28th. The current high-ranking public official with the most reported assets during this period was Kang Ki-yoon, CEO of Korea South-East Power, who reported assets in his and his family's names totaling 15.166 billion won. CEO Kang reported 5.313 billion won in deposits, 5.190 billion won in stocks, 3.351 billion won in buildings, and 1.169 billion won in land in his and his family's names. He also held about 26.3 million won in virtual assets including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Yang Han-kwang, Director of the National Cancer Center, and Park Sun-kyu, Director of the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, were found to have assets of 7.158 billion won and 6.325 billion won, respectively. Director Yang reported 4.010 billion won in buildings, including a 3.613 billion won apartment in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, in his name, and 2.694 billion won in deposits in his and his family's names, while Director Park reported a 3.7 billion won mixed-use building in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, jointly owned by himself and his spouse. Among retirees, Lee Jong-yeop, former president of the Korea Legal Aid Corporation, had the most assets among those subject to this disclosure, with 8.961 billion won.

◆ 2036 Olympic Bid Candidates Seoul vs. North Jeolla, Decision Today

The domestic candidate city for the Summer Olympics between Seoul Special City and North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province will be decided today. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee will select the candidate city at a delegates' general meeting to be held at 3 PM today at the Olympic Parktel in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The selection of the candidate city for the 2036 Olympics will be the last agenda item at today's delegates' general meeting, which will be chaired for the first time by Yoo Seung-min, the president-elect of the 42nd Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, as he begins his official term. Seoul City and North Jeolla Province will each conduct a 45-minute presentation (PT) followed by a 15-minute Q&A session, after which the delegates will conduct a secret ballot immediately following the evaluation committee's report. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and North Jeolla Governor Kim Kwan-young are expected to personally present during the PT. Against Seoul City, which is trying to host the Summer Olympics for the first time in 48 years since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, North Jeolla Province is focusing on realizing balanced national development through 'provincial city solidarity,' which is the concept of recent Olympic host cities. Attention is focused on which of Seoul City and North Jeolla Province will have the honor of becoming the domestic candidate city.

◆ A Little Rain Until Morning... High of 18°C

Today, Friday, the country will be mostly cloudy, gradually clearing from the afternoon. Occasional rain will fall until the morning in the southwestern part of Gyeonggi, Chungnam, southern Chungbuk, Jeolla, southern Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam excluding the eastern inland, and Jeju Island. Expected rainfall is less than 5mm in Jeolla, about 1mm in Jeju Island, and less than 1mm in southwestern Gyeonggi, Daejeon, Sejong, Chungnam, southern Chungbuk, Gyeongnam excluding the eastern inland, and Daegu and southern Gyeongbuk. Seoul, Incheon, southeastern Gyeonggi, northern Chungbuk, northern Gyeongbuk, and eastern inland areas of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam may also see less than 0.1mm of raindrops until the morning. Morning lows are expected to range from -2 to 7 degrees Celsius, and daytime highs from 8 to 18 degrees Celsius. This is higher than the normal lows of -5 to 4 degrees and highs of 7 to 12 degrees. The mild weather is expected to continue until the 1st of next month, which is the weekend. However, during the day, ice that has frozen on rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and streams may melt and become thin, posing a risk of breaking, so special caution should be taken to prevent safety accidents. In the Gangwon mountainous areas where snow has accumulated, the snow will melt during the day, but as temperatures drop overnight, roads may refreeze, creating icy conditions in many areas. Fog with visibility of less than 1km may form along the west coast, requiring caution for traffic safety. From daytime, due to the influx of foreign fine dust, the concentration of fine dust is expected to be high, especially in the central regions. The air quality is expected to be 'bad' in the metropolitan area, western Gangwon, Sejong, and Chungbuk, and 'good' to 'moderate' in other regions.

Kim So-yeon, Hankyung.com reporter sue123@hankyung.com