The Trump administration's reversal on the timing of tariff imposition has renewed uncertainty, but the stock market is showing a solid performance compared to before. After the U.S. New York Stock Exchange closed mixed the previous night, the KOSPI started on a mixed note on the 9th.
As of 9:03 a.m. on that day, the KOSPI index was trading at 3113.57, down 1.38 points (0.04%) from the previous day. In the securities market, foreigners and institutions are net selling 111.8 billion won and 79.4 billion won, respectively. Individuals are net buying 181.6 billion won alone. The KOSPI index started trading at 3125.73, up 10.78 points (0.35%), but has switched to a downward trend.
The top 10 stocks by market capitalization are showing some weakness. LG Energy Solution, Samsung Biologics, and Hanwha Aerospace are experiencing upward trends, while the remaining seven stocks are declining. KB Financial is down over 4%, while Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Hyundai Motor, Doosan Enerbility, Samsung Electronics preferred shares, and NAVER started lower.
The KOSDAQ index is trading at 784.40, up 0.16 points (0.02%) from the previous day as of the same time. In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions are net selling 24.2 billion won and 11.2 billion won, while individuals are net buying 36.8 billion won. The KOSDAQ index started trading at 786.11, up 1.87 points (0.24%).
The top stocks by KOSDAQ market capitalization are mixed. ECOPRO BM is showing strong trends with a gain of over 2%, and ECOPRO, PharmaResearch, Rainbow Robotics, Peptron, and HUGEL are also rising together. On the other hand, Alteogen, LigaChem Biosciences, CLASSYS are showing weakness.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the exchange rate of the won against the U.S. dollar (won/dollar exchange rate) is trading at 1374.1 won, up 2.6 won from the previous day.
On the 8th (local time), the major indices of the U.S. stock market, including the Standard & Poor's 500 index, closed down 4.46 points (0.07%) at 6225.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 165.60 points (0.37%) at 40,240.76. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq index rose 5.95 points (0.03%) to close at 20,418.46.
U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the reciprocal tariff deadline will be on August 1. By reversing his previous stance, he increased market uncertainty regarding the tariff.
President Trump stated on his social media (SNS) platform Truth Social that "tariffs will begin to be imposed starting August 1, 2025," adding that "extensions will not be allowed."
However, the day before, he sent a tariff letter to Korea and 14 other countries, indicating that the implementation of the tariff could be delayed further. Although he reversed his stance within a day, the market does not seem to be particularly concerned about the tariff uncertainty, as there were no significant movements.
Seo Jeong-hoon, a researcher at Samsung Securities, analyzed that "the U.S. stock market showed a neutral movement due to concerns that the headline risk stemming from President Trump could continue for the time being," adding, "However, due to the aforementioned context, the stock market's decline has been limited."
Lee Woong-chan, a researcher at iM Securities, stated, "Despite the announcement of a tariff rate similar to that in April, the market is indifferent to it," and added, "It seems that people easily think President Trump might retract his policy again, but the tariff policy is being imposed according to the original plan in a broad sense."
He added, "Rather than withdrawing the policy, it seems to be an effort to impose tariffs while minimizing impact on the market."