Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

Korean IPO market participants experienced a sharp reversal in Q3 as newly listed stocks turned negative after strong Q2 gains, driven by a broader stock market correction and rapid outflow of short-term capital. In Q2, eight newly listed companies averaged 132.4% first-day returns above their

According to Korea Exchange, Korean cosmetics stocks soared in August, with Korean Colmar surging 57.5% and Cosmax rising 55.1% as semiconductor stocks declined. Korean Colmar achieved a record quarterly operating profit of 100 billion won in the ODM (original design manufacturing) sector, while Cos

According to Korea Exchange, SK Hynix accelerated its share buyback program on August 25, with approximately 1.05 trillion Korean won in repurchase orders. Samsung Electronics has also initiated its own buyback effort, marking a rare corporate-driven market support phenomenon in South Korea's

According to Bank of America data, active equity funds sold $44.4 billion of semiconductor stocks in August, marking a significant shift in institutional capital allocation. The selloff reflects money moving away from crowded AI trades toward telecom, energy, materials, and power grid

According to Guru Club, spot silver declined 2% intraday on August 25, trading at $67.55 per ounce.

LG Household & Health Care (LG H&H) and Amorepacific stocks outperformed APR from early in the month to the 25th, with LG H&H rising 37.69% and Amorepacific climbing 35.57% compared to APR's 13.38% gain during the same period. The performance reflects both companies' accelerating North American

Korean corporations reduced bond issuance in the first half of the year as borrowing costs surged, with credit spreads for top-rated bonds rising over 1 percentage point in eight months. Companies shifted to bank loans, which remain cheaper than corporate bond rates despite the Bank of Korea

Korean robotics stocks rebounded on the 25th ahead of Hyundai Motor's CEO Investor Day scheduled for the 26th. Growth expectations and valuation concerns emerged simultaneously following Chinese robotics company Unitree's listing. KOSDAQ small and mid-cap stocks with trading history with Hyundai Mot

According to Korea Exchange, foreign investors sold net 9.4 trillion won of Korean stocks over the past five trading days through August 25, marking a sharp reversal from net inflows of 8.1 trillion won the prior week. On August 25 alone, foreign investors net sold 3.82 trillion won, the strongest d

According to Hankyung Economy, LG Household & Health Care's North America revenue reached 205.8 billion Korean won in Q2 2026, surpassing China revenue of 176 billion won for the first time, up 47.3% year-over-year. Amorepacific's North America revenue reached 210.4 billion won in the same period, u

According to Hankyung, Nvidia will release its fiscal 2027 second-quarter earnings on August 27 at 6 a.m. Korea time, with revenue guidance of $91 billion (±2%), exceeding analyst consensus of $87.3 billion by 4.2%. The company has beaten guidance for four consecutive quarters, with Q1 gross

According to Financial Investment Association data released on August 25, South Korean corporations are increasingly shifting to bank loans as corporate bond financing costs surged over 1 percentage point since year-end. The credit spread for AA-rated three-year corporate bonds reached 0.686 percent

According to Maeil Business Newspaper, on August 25, South Korean robotics stocks KNR System and TXR Robotics surged 15.92% and 11.86% respectively, following China's Unitree robot company's debut on the stock exchange. Unitree opened 460% above its IPO price of 150.8 yuan on August 19,

According to Jin10, on Aug 25, Japanese Prime Minister Takayuki Makiyama instructed relevant ministers to prepare measures maintaining gasoline price subsidies. The subsidies, introduced since mid-March to support oil wholesalers, aim to keep average retail gasoline prices around 170 yen per

According to BlockBeats, Bloom Energy (BE) rose over 5% premarket on Aug 25, while Intel gained 2.6%, both stocks held by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's family. Paul Pelosi purchased approximately 15,000 shares of BE and 200 call

Iranian conservative newspaper Kayhan on August 25 (local time) rejected claims that external warfare caused the country's triple-digit inflation crisis, attributing the economic turmoil to government currency policy failures and fiscal indiscipline instead. The outlet criticized what it called

Seojin System, a global metal platform specialist, decided on the 24th to raise 200 billion KRW through private convertible bonds to fund expansion of its US Georgia energy storage system (ESS) production facility and meet surging global semiconductor and AI datacenter infrastructure demand. The bon

According to Iranian newspaper Kayhan on August 25, the outlet attributed Iran's three-digit inflation and currency crisis to government monetary policy failures and lack of fiscal discipline, rather than external conflicts. Kayhan criticized claims that war caused the inflation surge as "a

According to Yonhapinfomax, South Korea's FX swap points declined on August 25 as month-end won liquidity pressures eased compared to July. The 1-year FX swap fell 0.50 won to -9.70 won, while the 6-month swap dropped to -4.50 won and the 3-month swap to -1.60 won. Traders attributed the decline par

According to FinanceFeeds analysis based on D-Wave's Q2 2026 results released August 6, QBTS trades at $18.68 as of August 24, carrying a $6.96 billion market capitalization against trailing twelve-month revenue of $12.43 million—approximately 560 times sales. The bull case targets $35,