In October, the divergence between the U.S. stock market and the KOSPI has widened, making it difficult to predict the direction of the domestic market based on U.S. trends.
The correlation between the Nasdaq's rise and the KOSPI's increase dropped significantly from 75.0% in September to 45.5% in October, a decline of 29.5 percentage points. Similarly, the correlation following the SOX index's rise halved from 66.7% to 33.3%. The overall mismatch in market movements increased from 26.3% to 55.0%.
On November 2, the first trading day of the month, while the Nasdaq fell by 2.86% and the SOX dropped by 7.20%, the KOSPI rose by 2.24%, continuing the trend of divergence.
In related reports, NH Investment & Securities has lowered its target price for Hyundai Steel from 40,000 won to 37,000 won, a decrease of 7.5%, while maintaining a 'buy' rating. Despite the imposition of anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel products, the increase in imports from third countries has delayed price hikes. The forecast for next year's operating profit has been revised down by 6.6%.
Hyundai Steel's third-quarter operating profit was 87.1 billion won, falling short of market expectations. However, the fourth quarter is projected to see a recovery in sales volume and price increases, with an estimated profit of 123 billion won. Expectations for improved performance are supported by rising domestic steel prices and stable raw material costs, with a projected price-to-book ratio of 0.18, indicating limited valuation pressure.
After the market closed on November 2, several key announcements were made: Genexine announced an increase in short-term borrowings; Daewoo Engineering & Construction reported a breakdown in negotiations for a new nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic; and MFC decided to retire 400,000 shares, worth approximately 2.7 billion won, representing 4.66% of its issued shares.
As of October 30, fund trends showed an inflow of 6.1 billion won into domestic equity funds and 5.1 billion won into overseas equity funds.
Today's schedule includes the release of South Korea's consumer price index for October and the U.S. JOLTS report and factory orders for September.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.