Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

SK Hynix received target price adjustments from six of 14 securities firms on July 30 following second-quarter earnings that fell short of market expectations. The company reported Q2 revenue of 79.3 trillion won and operating profit of 60.5 trillion won, both record-breaking figures but below

According to Maeil Business on July 30, six of 14 brokerages downgraded SK Hynix price targets following the company's second-quarter earnings that fell slightly short of consensus forecasts. Daishin Securities cut its target from 3.9 million to 3.2 million won, while NH Investment & Securities

POSCO Future M reported Q2 operating profit of 26.7 billion won, a 3,351% increase from the same period last year, according to a disclosure on the 30th. The energy materials division achieved 25 billion won in operating profit, reversing a 25.5 billion won loss recorded in Q2 last year, while the a

According to Jin10, internal disagreement within the Federal Reserve triggered a weaker dollar, which lifted base metals including copper and aluminum as of late July. The divergence in Fed policy expectations disrupted market sentiment and supported demand for commodities. Geopolitical tensions in

According to Yonhap Infomax, POSCO Future M on July 30 reported second-quarter operating profit of 267 billion won, surging 3,351% year-over-year. Revenue reached 678.95 billion won, up 2.8% from the prior year, while net profit swung to positive 24.7 billion won. The company's Energy Materials

South Korea's KOSPI index rose 144.83 points (2.56%) to 5808.07 as of 11:20 AM on the 30th, rebounding after two consecutive days of sharp declines following Samsung Electronics' Q2 earnings announcement. Individual investors sold 1.9688 trillion won worth of stocks during the same period, marking t

According to Korea Exchange, KOSPI rose 2.56% to 5,808.07 points today (July 30), buoyed by Samsung Electronics' record second-quarter earnings. Samsung posted revenue of 171.5 trillion Korean won and operating profit of 89.5 trillion won, with its semiconductor division accounting for 99.6% of

According to Union News, Samsung SDI, a battery cell manufacturer, reported operating profit of 203.8 billion Korean won in Q2 2026, exceeding analyst expectations of negative 14.8 billion won. Revenue reached 3.7688 trillion Korean won, surpassing forecasts of 3.661 trillion won. The company

According to Korea Exchange, on July 30 at 1:09 p.m., the KOSPI index fell 68.52 points (1.21%) to 5,594.72, reversing earlier gains. The index opened 0.33% higher at 5,681.77 and briefly surged to an intraday high of 5,976.82 before turning

USD-KRW exchange rate dropped over 10 won in morning trading on May 30, hitting its lowest level since February at 1,435.90 won at 9:16 AM before reversing course to trade at 1,446.40 won by 11:17 AM, down 0.30 won from the prior session close. The sharp decline was attributed to suspected dollar se

According to Yonhapinfomax, on July 30, the dollar-won exchange rate initially plunged over 10 won in morning trading, hitting 1,435.90 won (the lowest level since February) as SK Hynix reportedly sold dollars. As of 11:17 AM local time, the rate recovered to 1,446.40 won, down 0.30 won from the

According to ChainCatcher, citing Coinglass data, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 27 on July 30, down 1 point from the previous day. The 7-day average stands at 27, while the 30-day average is 24, indicating sustained panic sentiment in the

According to Ajitabh Bharti, executive director at Capital XB, on July 30, the Federal Reserve's lack of decisive rate action suggests political considerations may be playing a role, with stability potentially prioritized over inflation control ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. This dynamic

Hong Kong stocks traded mixed at midday, with the Hang Seng Index slipping 8 points to close the morning session at 25,798 points. The decline followed overnight weakness in US markets, where the Dow Jones fell over 1,000 points and both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped more than 1% after the

Bloomberg market analyst and ETF expert Eric Balchunas stated on 29일 that AI investment fever, not leveraged exchange-traded funds, was the core cause of recent Korean stock market volatility. Balchunas shared his analysis via his X account in response to Korean political discussions targeting 2x le

According to Bloomberg, on July 29, ETF specialist Eric Balchunas attributed South Korea's recent stock market decline not to controversial leverage exchange-traded funds but to the artificial intelligence investment boom. Balchunas noted that global investor interest in memory chip manufacturers

According to Jin10, domestic gold jewelry prices rose approximately 16 yuan/gram on July 30 compared to the previous day, with most major brands quoting 1236 to 1238 yuan/gram for 99.9% pure gold jewelry.

According to Brazil's National Grain Exporter Association (Anec), for the week of July 26-August 1, Brazil plans to export 2.897 million tons of soybeans, 878,090 tons of soy meal, and 1.519 million tons of corn. This represents an increase compared to the prior week (July 19-25), when Brazil export

According to Odaily, Leopold Aschenbrenner's Situational Awareness fund faced significant losses in July 2026 after gaining 439% through June, triggering discussions with existing investors and lenders for additional capital. The fund had used leverage through major investment banks to amplify AI tr

According to SoSoValue data, Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded net inflows of $32.11 million on July 29 (U.S. Eastern Time). BlackRock's IBIT led all products with single-day inflows of $89.83 million, bringing its cumulative net inflows to $60.42 billion. Fidelity's FBTC experienced the largest outflows a