[Morning Briefing] US Oracle stock soars… President Lee's '100-day press conference' today

◆ New York stocks close mixed despite Oracle surge

Overnight, New York stocks closed mixed. In early trading at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow fell 0.48% from the previous session, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 0.3% and 0.03%, respectively. Software giant Oracle's stock jumped more than 40%, marking its largest single-day gain in 33 years since 1992. It was recorded as the first case of a U.S. company with a market capitalization of more than $500 billion rising more than 25% in a single day of trading. Earlier, Oracle ignited investor sentiment by announcing a cloud backlog of $455 billion. Its co-founder Larry Ellison briefly became the world's richest person during intraday trading, overtaking Tesla CEO Elon Musk. A lower-than-expected U.S. August Producer Price Index (PPI) also boosted investor sentiment. The U.S. Department of Labor said August PPI fell 0.1% from the previous month, well below market expectations of a 0.3% rise, raising hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

◆ "Charter flight for detained Koreans scheduled to depart at noon local time on the 11th"

A charter flight carrying about 300 Koreans who were arrested and detained by U.S. immigration authorities in Georgia is scheduled to take off at noon on the 11th (local time). The group was arrested by U.S. immigration authorities on the 4th and has been held in a nearby detention facility. They were originally scheduled to be released from the facility today and return home on a charter flight as voluntary departures, but the flight was suddenly delayed due to U.S. circumstances. The unexpected delay was reportedly due to issues over handcuffing and the operation of transport buses. Immigration authorities insisted that the detainees be handcuffed when moved to the airport, causing difficulties, but the issue was resolved after President Trump reportedly ordered that they not be handcuffed. It was also reported that instructions were given to ensure that their detention records and illegal stay records would not remain in the system so that they would not have trouble re-entering the country.

◆ President Lee's '100-day press conference' today

President Lee Jae-myung will hold a press conference today, marking his 100th day in office, to explain economic policies and state his positions on domestic and international issues. The conference, under the concept of "Better economy, more communication, greater unity," will be attended by 152 domestic and foreign reporters and will be held from 10 a.m. for 90 minutes. Topics likely to arise include the negotiations over the return of Koreans arrested and detained at a Korean factory in Georgia, prosecution reform, and the criteria for major shareholders subject to stock capital gains tax. This will be his second press conference, following the first on July 3, his 30th day in office.

◆ Plenary session today to vote on amendments to three special prosecutor laws and motion to consent to arrest Kwon Seong-dong

The National Assembly will hold a plenary session this afternoon to table amendments to three special prosecutor laws and a motion to consent to the arrest of People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong. The amendment to the special prosecutor laws reflects a compromise in which the Democratic Party agreed yesterday to submit a softened revision with the People Power Party. The agreed revision does not extend the special prosecutor investigation period and limits any increase in personnel to the necessary scope. However, if hardliners within the Democratic Party raise objections to the revision, it could be difficult for the agreed amendment to pass the plenary session. The plenary session is also expected to vote on the motion to consent to Kwon's arrest. Earlier, Kwon described the investigation into him as an "unjust politically targeted investigation," but said he would be willing to forgo his privilege against arrest.

◆ Cho Kuk expected to be elevated as emergency committee chairman of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party today

Cho Kuk, head of the Innovation Policy Research Institute of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, is expected to be elevated as the party's emergency committee chairman today. The party will hold a party affairs committee meeting this afternoon to approve Cho's appointment as emergency committee chairman. Earlier, Innovation Party lawmakers agreed at a party meeting on the 9th to recommend Cho as emergency committee chairman. The Innovation Party leadership, including former acting party leader Kim Sun-min, collectively resigned last weekend taking responsibility for an internal sexual misconduct scandal. If Cho assumes the emergency committee chair, he will regain party leadership eight months after losing his party membership following his incarceration in December last year.

◆ Mostly clear nationwide… daytime highs 27–32°C

Thursday will be mostly clear nationwide, but Gangwon's Yeongdong region, Jeonnam, and Gyeongnam may see occasional clouds. Jeju Island will be mostly cloudy with 5–20 mm of rain forecast. Daytime highs are expected to be 27–32°C. Fine dust levels will be 'good' nationwide due to smooth atmospheric dispersion. The Korea Meteorological Administration explained that dense fog may form in inland areas of Chungcheong and southern inland regions until morning, so caution is advised for traffic safety. Wave heights will be 0.5–2.5 m in the offshore areas of the East and South Seas and 0.5–1.0 m in the offshore West Sea.

No Jeong-dong, Hankyung.com reporter dong2@hankyung.com