Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record closing high of 53,178 points on the first trading day of August, rising 1.32%. The S&P 500 index rebounded to 7,600 points, within 20 points of its June high of 7,620 points. The rally occurred as US stocks entered historically challenging months, w

Korea Teachers' Credit Union earned 246 billion won in profit from the exit of US gas and geothermal power producer Calpine on January 7, when Constellation Energy acquired the company for $16.4 billion. The mutual aid association invested 139.9 billion won in 2022 through ECP's continuation fund an

Asian stock markets opened higher on August 5, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index up 1% and South Korea's Seoul Composite surging 3.8% at the open. Semiconductor stocks led the Seoul market's gains, with SK Hynix rising over 6% and Samsung Electronics climbing more

Samyang Foods is projected to achieve Q2 operating profit growth of nearly 50%, driven by strong overseas sales. According to a survey compiled by Yonhap Infomax on the 5th, aggregating forecasts from 10 major domestic securities firms released within the past month, Samyang Foods is expected to rec

Iridium prices have surged this year to 2,000 yuan per gram, outpacing gold, according to industry sources. The rally, which has seen prices rise over 70% year-to-date, is driven by increased demand from artificial intelligence and new energy

According to Korea Investment & Securities analyst Yeom Dong-chan, SK Hynix raised its outstanding share count by 2.5% to 730 million shares on July 29 for its ADR listing, potentially boosting its weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets index when evaluated on August 13. If reflected in the

According to JPMorgan Chase, hyperscale cloud service providers' backlog orders surged 150% year-over-year to approximately $1.7 trillion in July, significantly outpacing capital expenditure growth of around 80% during the same period. The analysis suggests AI infrastructure investments are

Marvell Technology, SanDisk, and SK Hynix led a semiconductor stock rally on May 4 (local time), contributing to the S&P 500 index reaching a record high. Marvell hosted the Flash Memory Summit 2026 event where it introduced new memory and storage infrastructure products designed to meet growing

Korea Ratings confirmed Hanwha Corporation's credit ratings on the 4th, stating the company's spin-off would have limited impact on the surviving entity's creditworthiness. The ratings agency maintained Hanwha's commercial paper rating at A2+ and its unsecured bond rating at A+ with a stable

Oppenheimer downgraded Walmart to Perform from Outperform and withdrew its $140 target price. Rupesh Parikh, analyst at Oppenheimer, cited pharmacy sector headwinds from Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) impacts, valuation concerns, and elevated market expectations as reasons for the downgrade on the 4t

According to Korean Credit Rating on August 4, the agency confirmed Hanwha Corporation's commercial paper rating at A2+ and maintained its unsecured bond rating at A+, with outlook held at 'stable.' The rating firm assessed that the company's personnel spin-off, which created new entity Hanwha

According to CNBC, Oppenheimer downgraded Walmart (NYSE: WMT) rating from Outperform to Perform on August 4 and withdrew its $140 price target. Analyst Rupesh Parikh cited pharmacy sector headwinds, valuation pressure, and elevated market expectations as key concerns. Walmart's current forward price

According to the Bank of Japan meeting minutes, some members stated the central bank must maintain its forward guidance and will continue raising interest rates if economic and price developments align with their

According to the Bank of Japan's latest meeting minutes, one board member stated that the central bank should raise interest rates approximately every few months.

According to Japan's central bank June meeting minutes, a board member pointed to rising import prices driven by foreign exchange movements, noting the burden on small enterprises.

According to BlockBeats citing BIT market data, Palantir shares surged nearly 30% to $162.66 on Tuesday (August 5), propelling the company's market cap to $389.95 billion. The stock rally was triggered by the company's latest earnings report, which showed second-quarter revenue jumped 93%

Spotify reported on August 5 that paid subscribers broke through 300 million for the first time in the second quarter, with net additions of 7 million. Monthly active users (MAU) reached 777 million, up 12% year-over-year. Q2 revenue was 4.78 billion euros, up 14%, while net profit reached 545 milli

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted excessive volatility in the Korean won last night, providing support to the currency as the dollar-won 1-month NDF fell to 1,429.90 won. Bessent's remarks came as he reiterated US commitment to supporting yen strength, stating that yen weakness triggers