[Morning Briefing] Trump's Trade War Determination 'Shakes' New York Stock Market... Daytime High of 21°C

◆ Trump's Trade War Determination Causes New York Stock Market to Plunge

The three major New York stock market indices all fell as market anxiety grew due to the escalation of trade wars, including the Donald Trump administration's threat of retaliatory tariffs against the European Union (EU). On the 13th local time, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index closed at 5,521.52, down 77.78 points (-1.39%) from the previous session. The S&P 500 index has entered a technical correction phase, falling more than 10% from its recent high (February 19) on a closing basis. The Dow Jones 30 Industrial Average closed at 40,813.57, down 537.36 points (-1.30%) from the previous session, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index finished at 17,303.01, down 345.44 points (-1.96%). The Nasdaq index had already entered a correction phase on the 6th, having fallen more than 10% from its recent high. Analysts say that investment sentiment has been burdened as the trade war intensifies, with Trump's tariff threats being met with retaliatory tariffs from Europe, followed by Trump's warnings of counter-retaliation. President Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that he would impose a 200% tariff on imported alcoholic products from the EU in response to the EU's 50% tariff on American whiskey. Although U.S. consumer prices for February (2.8%) came in below market expectations, followed by producer prices remaining flat month-over-month and falling short of expectations, thus somewhat alleviating inflation concerns, it was not enough to lead to a change in investment sentiment. Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder, said, "Traders are on high alert about the trade war issue," adding, "If the trade war hadn't proceeded, the stock market would have shown strength on the price indicator news today."

◆ Trump Reconfirms '4/2 Reciprocal Tariffs'... "Will Not Back Down"

U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his determination on the 13th local time to proceed with his announcement of 'reciprocal tariffs' against the entire world on April 2, while acknowledging the possibility of some confusion due to the 'tariff war' he initiated. When asked by reporters during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the White House Oval Office whether there was a possibility of change regarding the tariffs on aluminum (currently imposed at 25% since the 12th) and the tariffs planned for April 2 (reciprocal tariffs), President Trump curtly replied, "No." President Trump particularly emphasized his vision of making Canada the 51st state of the United States, saying, "We don't need anything that Canada has," regarding Canada, the country with which the 'tariff dispute' is most intensely unfolding. He added that "there will be some confusion, but it won't last long" regarding the tariffs.

◆ Impeachment Verdict Date, Will It Finally Be Decided?

The verdict in President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial will be delivered next week at the earliest. According to legal circles, the Constitutional Court had not yet announced the date for the verdict in President Yoon's impeachment trial as of the night of the 13th. The Constitutional Court concluded the arguments in President Yoon's impeachment trial on the 25th of last month and is now awaiting the verdict. However, it was reported that the Court plans to hold a deliberation this afternoon, Friday, two weeks after the conclusion of arguments, to review the issues at hand. The Constitutional Court typically notifies the parties of the verdict date 2-3 days in advance and also discloses it to the media. Therefore, if the verdict date is announced today, the verdict could be delivered as early as the 17th. If not, the verdict is likely to be delivered between the 19th and 21st. Even if the verdict is delivered on Monday the 17th of next week, it would be 93 days after the impeachment motion was passed by the National Assembly on December 14 last year. Previously, former President Roh Moo-hyun received his verdict 63 days after impeachment, and former President Park Geun-hye received hers after 91 days, making the duration of this case longer. The justices have been holding deliberations almost daily since the conclusion of arguments, except for the first few days, reviewing one by one the issues raised by both President Yoon and the National Assembly in the impeachment trial. It is understood that they are still at the stage of organizing their individual views and exchanging opinions, and have not yet reached a final conclusion.

◆ Foreign Investors Continue Net Selling for 7 Consecutive Months, 2.8 Trillion Won in Last Month Alone

Foreign investors continued their net selling in the domestic stock market for the seventh consecutive month in February. According to the 'February Foreign Securities Investment Trends' released today by the Financial Supervisory Service, foreigners net sold 2.83 trillion won worth of domestic listed stocks last month. This marks the seventh consecutive month of net selling since last August. They net sold 2.86 trillion won on the securities market and net purchased 300 billion won on the KOSDAQ market. As of the end of last month, the size of domestic listed stocks held by foreigners was 704.1 trillion won, accounting for 26.5% of the total market capitalization. However, in the bond market, foreign investors made a net investment of 5.668 trillion won in listed bonds, switching to net investment for the first time in three months. This was due to net purchases of 6.833 trillion won in listed bonds and maturity redemptions of 1.165 trillion won.

◆ Maximum Temperature of 21°C, Warm White Day

Today, White Day, the daytime temperature will rise above 15 degrees, making for warm weather. The Korea Meteorological Administration forecasted that today's temperature would be about 2-4 degrees higher than the average year. The daytime temperature will be more than 5 degrees higher than the average year in most parts of the country, with morning lows ranging from -2 to 7 degrees and daytime highs from 11 to 21 degrees. The sky will be mostly clear nationwide but will gradually become cloudy from the evening. From the afternoon, there will be areas along the south coast and Jeju Island where winds will blow strongly at around 55 km/h (around 70 km/h in the mountainous areas of Jeju Island). From the evening, winds on Jeju Island will blow very strongly at over 70 km/h (90 km/h in the mountainous areas of Jeju Island), with the possibility of a strong wind advisory being issued. From the morning, very strong winds of 30-60 km/h and high waves of 1.5-4.0m are expected in the outer distant seas south of Jeju Island and the eastern outer distant seas of the South Sea, from the afternoon in other Jeju Island waters and the distant seas of the South Sea, and from the evening in the southern distant seas of the southern West Sea, with the possibility of a wind and wave advisory being issued. Tomorrow, Saturday, rain is expected to begin on Jeju and the south coast, spreading nationwide by Sunday. After that, temperatures are expected to drop sharply, bringing cold weather in the midst of spring.

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