[Good Morning Market] S&P 500, Nasdaq Hit All-Time Highs... Korean Stocks Also Expected to Rise

Risks Easing in the New York Stock Market
Strong Earnings for U.S. Financial Stocks and AI Chip Producers
Semiconductor Stocks Pause as Investors Take Profits

As optimism grows over ceasefire negotiations, the New York Stock Exchange set a new all-time high, and the domestic stock market is also expected to continue its upward trend.

On the 15th, the status board in the dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, displayed the KOSPI and other indices. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 15th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the S&P 500 index closed at 7,022.95, up 55.57 points (0.80%) from the previous session. During the session, the S&P 500 index reached a record high of 7,026.24, marking its highest point in about two and a half months since January 28.

The New York stock market is gaining momentum despite the shock caused by the Iran war. U.S. President Donald Trump stated in an interview with Fox Business that “(the Iran war) will be over soon.”

First quarter earnings announcements this year also had a positive impact on investor sentiment. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup all reported results that exceeded expectations, and both Morgan Stanley and Bank of America (BoA) also outperformed market forecasts. Semiconductor company Broadcom jumped 4.19% on news of a contract with Meta to expand production of artificial intelligence (AI) chips, leading the rise in technology stocks.

On the other hand, Micron (-2.0%) and SanDisk (-5.6%) both posted declines. This appears to be due to a wave of profit-taking after their recent rapid rallies.

In its economic conditions report (Beige Book) released that day, the U.S. Federal Reserve identified the Middle East conflict as a major source of uncertainty complicating decisions related to employment, pricing, and capital investment, noting that many companies are taking a wait-and-see approach. However, the report also stated that overall economic activity has increased.

International oil prices closed flat, as optimism about ceasefire negotiations was offset by news of declining U.S. commercial crude oil inventories. Brent crude futures for June delivery closed at $94.93 per barrel, up 0.1% from the previous session, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May delivery inched up one cent to $91.29 per barrel.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, “The domestic stock market is likely to see semiconductor stocks take a breather today due to the effect of consecutive sharp rallies. However, ongoing expectations for ceasefire negotiations and the record highs in the Nasdaq could sustain risk appetite, leading to a positive sector rotation and at least a neutral trend in share prices for sectors outside semiconductors.”

Han added, “It is somewhat disappointing that U.S. semiconductor stocks showed weakness, which seems to have prompted some short-term concerns about the market direction. Still, such concerns are a natural part of the process when leading stocks experience consecutive rallies or set new record highs. It would be appropriate to consider adjusting positions after confirming the profitability and guidance of U.S. big tech and server companies from late April to early May.”

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