U.S. President Donald Trump delayed the effective date of the reciprocal tariff to the 1st of next month, resulting in a slight increase in the Korean stock market on the 8th.
As of 9:06 a.m. on that day, the KOSPI index recorded an increase of 13.04 points (0.43%) to reach 3072.51. The KOSPI index opened at 3071.74, up 12.27 points (0.40%) from the previous session.
Large-cap stocks are showing mixed trends. Major semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Samsung Electronics preferred shares, along with LG Energy Solution, are declining. In contrast, KB Financial, Hyundai Motor, Doosan Enerbility, and NAVER started higher.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is trading at 778.84, up 0.38 points (0.05%).
Top stocks by market capitalization on the KOSDAQ are generally on the rise. Companies such as Ecopro BM, Ecopro, PharmaResearch, Rainbow Robotics, Peptron, and LigaChem Biosciences have started to rise, while the leading stock Alteogen is slightly declining.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump sent a letter to President Lee Jae-myung on the 7th (local time), announcing that a 25% reciprocal tariff would be imposed on all products exported from Korea to the U.S. starting from August 1. The original effective date for the reciprocal tariff was scheduled for the 9th, but it has been postponed to the 1st of next month.
The New York Stock Exchange closed lower amid concerns that global trade tensions may escalate again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 422.17 points (-0.94%) at 44,406.36, while the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index ended down 49.37 points (-0.79%) at 6,229.98, and the technology-focused NASDAQ composite index closed down 188.59 points (-0.92%) at 20,412.52.
Meanwhile, the government of Korea has also begun its response. The Presidential Office will hold a meeting this afternoon chaired by Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom to address Korea-U.S. trade issues.
In addition, during a visit to the U.S., National Security Office Director Wi Seong-rak met with U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, agreeing to cooperate for reciprocal tariff negotiations, according to the Presidential Office.