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A daily market brief, published each morning. Markets, stocks, industry, economy, global, and policy — sorted by category.

Markets·2026-09-18

KOSPI Rallies Over 2% on Wall Street Tailwind, Foreign Net Buying

The KOSPI traded up more than 2.1% at around 6,856 points, while the KOSDAQ rose 0.66% to 827 points. Foreigners posted net buying of about 170 billion won in KOSPI cash, about 17 billion won in KOSDAQ cash, and nearly 800 billion won in the futures market. The exchange rate traded around 1,384 won, extending its gain after the Bank of Japan's rate decision. Overnight, Wall Street rallied broadly, with the three major indices, the Russell 2000, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (up more than 3%) all advancing. Two factors were cited. One was oil price stabilization: a Reuters report that China had urged the Houthi rebels toward restraint via Iran, along with news that a Saudi oil pipeline could resume roughly half of its operations within days, sent WTI down to around $101. The other was stability in Treasury yields, as the market interpreted the FOMC outcome as resolving uncertainty, and the Bank of England's decision the previous day to hold rates while announcing a halt to gilt sales (quantitative tightening) pushed UK gilt yields lower, which in turn stabilized European and US Treasury yields. The program's host noted that while yesterday's US rate hike is typically negative for equities, not raising rates could have heightened bond market instability and reignited inflation concerns, so the market had actually expected the hike to happen now. As the market digested this as a resolution of uncertainty rather than a short-term negative, US stocks rose, and one interest-rate issue that had been weighing on the domestic market was said to have been resolved. A US-China summit is scheduled for September 24 next week. On the US side, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Nvidia's Jensen Huang, and on the Chinese side, the CEOs of BYD, Xiaomi, and optical communications firm Innolight, are being mentioned as possible attendees, making progress in negotiations around the summit a point of interest. Regarding investment strategy ahead of the Chuseok holiday, a report by Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyung-min was introduced. It noted that while short-term volatility could increase from cautious selling ahead of the holiday amid a hawkish FOMC, the market typically tends to rebound after the holiday as pent-up demand flows in, suggesting this could be viewed as an opportunity to increase positions. However, since settlement of stock sales into cash takes T+2, it was also noted that, practically speaking, those wishing to withdraw funds before the holiday need to complete their trades by Monday.

Markets·2026-09-17

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.

Markets·2026-09-16

KOSPI Defends 6,600 Line a Day Before FOMC

A day before the FOMC decision, the KOSPI shook off intraday volatility to widen its gain from around 0.6% to as much as 0.8%, moving through the 6,670 to 6,685 range. The rebound followed four consecutive days of declines, but trading value itself fell sharply, with many market participants seen adopting a wait-and-see stance ahead of the outcome. The KOSDAQ briefly extended its losses during the session before paring the decline to around 0.5%, trimming its drop to near the 807 level. Foreign investor flows remain skewed toward selling. Foreign investors sold more than 1.1 trillion won on the exchange alone, extending their net-selling streak to a sixth consecutive session, and have now sold more than 1 trillion won per day for five straight sessions. In the KOSDAQ market, foreign investors also posted net sales of roughly 80 billion won. In the futures market, however, foreign investors turned net buyers for the first time in five sessions, diverging from the spot market trend, prompting calls for closer monitoring going forward. The won-dollar exchange rate turned higher again to around 1,367 won, with some forecasts suggesting that exchange rate volatility could widen depending on the stance the Bank of Japan takes in its rate decision scheduled for the 19th. The most important event is the US Federal Reserve's policy rate decision, scheduled for 3 a.m. Korea time, followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference starting at 3:30 a.m. The market is focused less on the rate move itself and more on the commentary regarding the economy and inflation that follows. The scenario participants would welcome most is a rate hike as expected combined with reassuring remarks on future inflation and growth — a so-called dovish hike. However, concerns were also raised that, given the recent trend toward shorter press conferences, commentary this time could likewise be limited.