KOSPI, KOSDAQ Close Slightly Higher Amid FOMC Wait-and-See Mood, Mixed Session
The KOSPI closed up 0.05% at 6,721 points and the KOSDAQ rose 0.6% to close at 821 points, both posting modest gains. On the currency front, the dollar index topped 100, sending the won-dollar exchange rate rapidly up to 1,379 won—an acceleration from earlier in the session that warrants continued monitoring. On the flow side, foreign investors sold in both the cash and futures markets.
The previous day, the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered its first rate hike in three years and two months and signaled in its dot plot the possibility of one more hike this year, causing Wall Street to reverse lower late in the session. However, news that Saudi Arabia was attempting to restore its east-west crude pipeline was viewed positively, as it kept international oil prices from surging further.
The hosts characterized this rate decision as resolving market uncertainty, while noting that underlying issues remain unresolved, so volatility is likely to persist. They projected that the next phase will be the third-quarter earnings season starting in September and October, and suggested that if corporate earnings growth outpaces the impact of the rate hike, the market can overcome the volatility.