[Special Stock] Tech Stocks Investor Sentiment Expands... NAVER and Kakao Surge Sharply After a While

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] NAVER and Kakao ended the trading session with a significant upward trend after a long time.

On the 31st, NAVER closed at 169,500 KRW, up 5.94% from the previous trading day. NAVER also touched 170,500 KRW during the session. Kakao rose 4% and closed at its intraday high of 50,700 KRW.

As Kakao's upward momentum continued, other Kakao affiliates also showed gains. Kakao Bank (7.89%), Kakao Pay (4.12%), and Kakao Games (1.93%) also closed the session with increases.

This is analyzed to be due to expanded investor sentiment toward technology stocks overall following Apple's strong earnings announcement. Seokhwan Kim, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "As risk appetite recovered, technology stocks such as NAVER and Kakao showed strength in the domestic stock market," adding, "Foreign investors showed buying momentum in the KOSPI market, focusing investor sentiment on internet stocks."

Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) will slow the pace of interest rate hikes toward the end of the year are also boosting investor sentiment toward technology stocks. Since technology stocks have been hurt by rising interest rates so far, there is a judgment that they could benefit if the rate hike trend slows down. Currently, market participants expect the Fed to implement a giant step (a 0.75 percentage point rate hike) at the November Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and then slow the pace of rate hikes at the December FOMC meeting.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.