Korea Economic Daily

South Korea’s Kospi rose in early trading on April 30, climbing back above 6,700 and setting another record high as upbeat earnings from US big tech companies including Alphabet and Amazon lifted sentiment. As of 9:11 a.m., the Kospi was up 43.65 poi

President Donald Trump publicly welcomed the United Arab Emirates' decision to leave OPEC. At the White House on April 29, Trump called the UAE's withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries "a great thing" and said it would

The three major U.S. stock indexes ended mixed on April 29 as a jump in oil prices fueled concern that energy supply disruptions could last longer, while optimism over Big Tech earnings helped cap losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 280.12

Pressure From President Donald Trump Focus on Whether He Can Defend Central Bank Independence Building Allies Inside the Fed Will Be Key With what was effectively Jerome Powell’s final Federal Open Market Committee meeting as Federal Reserve chair he

Private Credit Crowding Could Deepen a Downturn JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon again warned that a pullback in credit markets could be more severe than expected. Wall Street banks reported strong first-quarter earnings, but concerns about the private

Brokerages are tapping the brakes on South Korean builders that have surged on expectations for nuclear-power orders, arguing valuations have become stretched after a rapid run-up. As of April 29, Shinhan Securities and Mirae Asset Securities had eac

Early-May Breather May Give Way to Renewed Gains South Korean stock investors are watching whether the old “Sell in May” adage will hold this year after the Kospi climbed above 6,700 intraday and set another record. May has often been a weak month fo

South Korea’s Kospi erased earlier losses and turned higher in afternoon trading. As of 1:05 p.m. on April 29, the benchmark index was up 20.38 points, or 0.31%, at 6,661.4. It opened 0.33% lower and at one point fell as much as 0.68%, slipping below

Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix fall more than 1% South Korea’s Kospi opened lower after closing at record highs for a second straight session, with weakness in heavyweight semiconductor shares such as Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. weighing

U.S. stocks edged lower on April 28 ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting and first-quarter earnings from megacap technology companies. The question for South Korea’s market on April 29 is whether it can extend its rece

Brent Rises 2.8%, WTI Gains 3.7% Despite News of the UAE’s Exit From OPEC Major US stock indexes closed lower across the board on April 28 as concerns over growth at OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, weighed on sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Ave

"ChatGPT weekly active users stay below 1 billion" Concerns are mounting over OpenAI’s growth prospects. The Wall Street Journal reported on April 28 that OpenAI missed targets for new users and revenue, stoking internal concern over whether it can s

US-Iran talks stall despite hopes for higher output Oil prices rose again as traders weighed the United Arab Emirates' decision to leave OPEC+ and a deadlock in negotiations between the US and Iran. Benchmark Brent crude for June settlement closed at

World Bank sees energy prices jumping 24% Food, metals and fertilizer prices also set to rise Lender warns of twin hit from inflation and slower growth The World Bank said energy prices will jump 24% this year as fallout from the war in Iran drives u

Digital Asset Basic Act Faces Prolonged Delay Industry Pursues Patents and Other Standalone Measures The era of artificial intelligence agents spending money is beginning, but South Korea has yet to even start discussing the infrastructure needed for

Brent climbs to $110 as US-Iran talks remain deadlocked OpenAI-linked stocks slide across the board US stocks opened mixed on April 28 as oil prices remained elevated and a report on OpenAI’s slowing momentum weighed on technology shares. Oil prices

UAE announces exit from OPEC next month Move removes output constraints and opens path to independent policy Blow to Saudi-led order appears unavoidable The United Arab Emirates, a major Middle East oil producer, will leave OPEC and OPEC+ on May 1. T

AI-Agent Payments Emerge as a Global Trend Stablecoins Enable Real-Time Transactions Agentic Market Has Processed Nearly $50 Million Visa, Mastercard Move to Respond They Aim to Bring AI Payments Into Existing Card Networks Artificial intelligence ag

Discount push targets startups New V4 model priced at 1/40 of list Company goes after businesses under cost pressure Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek has launched a steep discount campaign to lure customers to its new V4 model, target

AI telecom equipment stocks in South Korea are quietly extending gains. As the era of real-time inference takes hold, investors are turning to companies that can support the underlying infrastructure. According to the Korea Exchange on April 28, RFHI

Quarterly profit seen returning in the second half Samsung SDI posted a sharp reduction in its first-quarter loss from a year earlier, signaling a rebound in earnings. The improvement was driven by higher U.S. energy storage system, or ESS, sales and

Operations Can’t Continue Without Congressional Approval 30-Day Extension Allowed Only for Safe Withdrawal of US Forces The legal deadline for President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, which began on Feb. 28, is three days away. Even so, there are no s

Bets SOXX Will Fall 30% Buys Software Stocks Including Microsoft and Adobe Investor Michael Burry, featured in “The Big Short” for his bet against the US housing market, has taken a bearish position on semiconductor stocks, saying now is the time to

"If corporate valuations rise and the Fed cuts rates, the Kospi could climb as high as 8,470 A weaker dollar may boost shipbuilders and other foreign-investor favorites" The Kospi extended its rally after reclaiming the 6,600 level, briefly rising ab

Samsung audits domestic sales unit as it reshapes production lines Broad review targets appliances, mobile and other businesses Some low-margin lines to close and shift to outsourcing Samsung Electronics Co. has launched an intensive management audit

POSCO Holdings hits 52-week high Moonbae Steel closes at daily limit Steel stocks in South Korea surged across the board as buying accelerated on news of Iran’s export ban and continued production cuts in China. According to the Korea Exchange on Apr