New York stock market, NVIDIA rally… Kim Keon-hee detained and indicted today [Morning Briefing]

◆ NVIDIA you can rely on… New York markets close higher

The three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher. At the close on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on the 28th Eastern Time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished trading at 45,636.90, up 71.67 points (0.16%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index closed at 6,501.86, up 20.46 points (0.32%), and the Nasdaq Composite Index ended at 21,705.16, up 115.02 points (0.53%). NVIDIA released its second-quarter results after the previous day's market close. Although the results beat market expectations, the margin by which they exceeded expectations was small, which rattled investor sentiment. Since the AI boom began, the market has treated NVIDIA as expected to beat estimates, and attention has focused on how large the gap between actual results and estimates would be. After the second-quarter results, optimism about NVIDIA was maintained, but voices of caution grew. Nevertheless, optimism still predominates. Wall Street investment firms largely raised their price targets for NVIDIA after the second-quarter results. Dan Ives, head of equity analysis at Wedbush, forecasted, "NVIDIA will reach a $5 trillion market capitalization."

◆ First among first ladies in history… Kim Keon-hee detained and indicted today

The special prosecutor's team led by Min Jung-gi, which pointed to various allegations as the 'apex,' will send Kim Keon-hee, who was detained, to trial today. It has been 59 days since they held an inauguration ceremony and declared the start of the investigation on the 2nd of last month. This is the first time the wife of a former president has been sent to trial while in detention. It is also the first time in constitutional history that a presidential couple are simultaneously on trial while both in detention. Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was earlier detained and indicted by the special prosecutor investigating the insurrection and is on trial. Kim is accused of accepting the results of opinion polls free of charge 58 times from political broker Myung Tae-gyun during the 2022 presidential election and using influence to have former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-seon nominated in that year's parliamentary by-election (violation of the Political Funds Act); of participating as a financier in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case that occurred from 2009 to 2012 (violation of the Capital Markets Act); and of receiving expensive necklaces and other items from the Unification Church through Geonjin priest Jeon Seong-bae between April and August 2022 while requesting church-related favors (receiving bribes under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes). Ms. Kim was summoned and investigated by the special prosecutor's team a total of five times on the 14th, 18th, 21st, 25th, and yesterday, but she is reported to have mostly refused to testify. Since the special prosecutor's team conducted intensive investigations into various allegations even after detaining Ms. Kim, there is speculation that additional charges may be added to the indictment detailing the facts to be contested at trial. There is also speculation that former President Yoon and Ms. Kim, who were both on investigators' radars over the allegation of Myung Tae-gyun's interference in nominations, could be indicted together.

◆ EU announces U.S. industrial goods tariff elimination law… condition to cut car tariffs to 15％

The European Union (EU) hurried to implement preconditions to secure a reduction in tariffs on cars exported to the United States. The European Commission, the EU's executive body, announced two legislative proposals on the 28th local time to implement the EU-U.S. trade agreement joint statement. The proposals aim to fully eliminate tariffs on U.S. industrial goods, expand tariff-rate quota (TRQ) volumes for U.S. seafood and non-sensitive agricultural products to provide preferential market access, and extend the existing tariff exemption period for U.S. lobster, which expired on July 31. All these measures are specified in paragraph 1 of the EU-U.S. joint statement. The joint statement stipulates that the U.S. will reduce tariffs on EU cars and car parts from 27.5％ to 15％, but that paragraph 1 must be implemented by the EU first. The Commission emphasized, "We prepared the legislation within August to ensure that the EU's important automotive industry can receive the benefits of U.S. tariff reductions as soon as possible."

◆ 50 senior public officials disclose assets, former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo reports 8.68466 billion won

The Government Official Ethics Committee today disclosed the assets of 50 senior public officials who experienced status changes such as appointment, promotion, or retirement between May 2 and June 1 this year, including former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. Former Prime Minister Han reported assets totaling 8,684,660,000 won. Due to changes in land valuations and living expenses, this is about 15 million won less than the assets disclosed in the regular asset change report in March. Among retirees, former Presidential Office official Lee Won-mo, who served as secretary for public service discipline, reported the most assets at 43,338,830,000 won, an increase of about 3.5 billion won from before. Hong Cheol-ho, founder of Goobne Chicken and former senior secretary for political affairs at the Presidential Office, reported 30,091,400,000 won, an increase of about 3.9 billion won from before, following him. Former Presidential Office policy chief Sung Tae-yoon reported 10,922,890,000 won, about 780 million won more than before. Among current senior public officials, the highest reported assets belonged to Kwon Yi-gyun, director of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources at the Ministry of Science and ICT, totaling 7,320,640,000 won. Kim Chang-won, former president of Gyeongin National University of Education at the Ministry of Education, reported a total of 4,955,420,000 won, including a duplex house worth about 400 million won in his and his spouse's names.

◆ Heatwave into the end of August, daytime highs up to 35 degrees

Today, Friday, most regions nationwide will feel hot with maximum perceived temperatures around 33 degrees. With major regions already exceeding 25 degrees at 5 a.m., daytime highs are forecast between 30 and 35 degrees. There will be showers in parts of the Seoul metropolitan area and inland northern Gangwon. There may also be afternoon showers in inland and mountainous Gangwon, the Chungnam area, central and northern Chungbuk, inland Jeolla, and Jeju Island. Expected precipitation amounts are 5–60㎜ for Incheon and northern Gyeonggi, inland northern Gangwon, and the West Sea five islands; 5–40㎜ for Seoul and southern Gyeonggi, inland central and southern Gangwon, and Gangwon mountains; 5–30㎜ for Daejeon, Sejong, Chungnam, and central and northern Chungbuk; and 5–20㎜ for eastern inland Jeonnam, northeastern inland Jeonbuk, and Jeju Island.

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