Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

The S&P 500 is on track to post a net profit margin of 15.7% for Q2 2026, the highest level in data going back to 2009, according to The Kobeissi Letter. The surge is driven by AI-fueled earnings growth, with second-quarter earnings for the index expected to rise 38% year-on-year—the highest growth

US and Hong Kong stock markets showed mixed performance on Friday and last week, with the Dow Jones rising while the Nasdaq declined. The Dow Jones increased 235 points or 0.46% to close at 51,947, the S&P 500 edged up 3 points or 0.05% to 7,411, while the Nasdaq fell 161 points or 0.64% to 24,975.

According to The Kobeissi Letter, the S&P 500's net profit margin hit 15.7% in Q2 2026, the highest level since 2009, as Big Tech stocks drove a historic earnings rally. The benchmark index is expected to post 38% year-on-year earnings growth in the second quarter, the highest rate since Q3 2021,

Korean securities firms identified power equipment stocks as the next major investment theme following AI semiconductor stocks on the 27th, citing rising power demand from AI data center expansion and recent price corrections that reduced valuation concerns. Mirae Asset Securities, KB Securities,

According to Yonhapnews and major Korean securities firms, power equipment stocks are emerging as the next sector to lead the AI investment cycle. While power equipment stocks have adjusted relative to semiconductor shares, global manufacturers' earnings outlooks are being revised upward, analysts s

Domestic residents' foreign currency deposits in South Korea reached $113.33 billion at the end of June, rising $1.08 billion from the previous month, according to Bank of Korea data released on the 27th. The increase was driven by growth in securities firms' customer deposits and corporate trade re

Samsung Electronics announced on the 27th that it will apply a 2-nanometer foundry process with Gate-All-Around (GAA) structure to the base die of HBM5, the next-generation High Bandwidth Memory. The company stated through its semiconductor newsroom that HBM5's operating speed is expected to be

According to Chaoyang Research, ChangXin Technology surged 471% on its July 27 debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market, with market capitalization briefly exceeding 3.3 trillion yuan. Nomura Securities issued a buy rating the same day with a 116-yuan price target, implying over 12x

According to the Bank of Korea, resident foreign currency deposits reached $113.33 billion at the end of June, up $1.08 billion from May, marking the third consecutive month of growth. The increase was driven primarily by higher dollar deposits at securities companies. Corporate dollar deposits

According to Yonhap Infomax, Hanwha Ocean reported on July 27 that its second-quarter operating profit surged 98% year-over-year to 734.1 billion won, while revenue climbed 65.2% to 5.44 trillion won. Both figures significantly exceeded analyst consensus estimates. Net profit more than

According to BlockBeats and Hyperinsight monitoring on July 27, a whale (0xa314) saw its $15 million crude oil pair trade collapse after it bet long on WTI while shorting Brent crude, anticipating WTI's continued outperformance. The trader had established approximately 91,000 WTI long contracts and

According to MarketWatch, U.S. semiconductor stocks fell sharply on Friday (July 24), with the Semiconductor ETF SOXX declining 4.40% and major chip stocks posting steeper losses: Micron Technology (MU) dropped 6.99%, Intel (INTC) fell 7.89%, Coherent (COHR) slumped 9.84%, and Lumentum (LITE)

SKC disclosed its second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 27, reporting revenue of 645.4 billion won and an operating loss of 14.4 billion won. The results exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue up 38.3 percent year-over-year and operating losses down 79 percent from the previous year. Market

According to Yonhapinfomax, SKC reported on July 27 that its second-quarter revenue reached 645.4 billion Korean won, up 38.3% year-over-year, with operating loss narrowed to 14.4 billion won, down 79% from the prior year. The results exceeded analyst expectations, which had forecast revenue

According to Money Today, Naver surged on July 27 after Nvidia announced a 1 billion dollar equity investment in the South Korean tech company as part of an AI Factory collaboration. The stock jumped 8.8% to 225,000 Korean won in afternoon trading, with intraday highs reaching a 13% gain at 234,500

According to Guru Club, Singapore's benchmark index fell 1.2% on June 4, closing at 5,076.81 points.

According to Jin10, the Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates steady at 3.75% during its policy meeting this week, despite surging energy prices driven by renewed Middle East conflict. Oil prices have rebounded to around $100 per barrel following the collapse of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire

According to a Reuters survey, 68 out of 72 economists expect India's central bank to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% on August 5.

The Korean stock market experienced unprecedented volatility in 2025, triggering circuit breakers seven times as of July 24. KOSPI reached an intraday high of 9385.59 on June 19, then plunged below 7000 within one month, recording an intraday low of 6429.03 on July 21—a 31.5% decline from the

Japan's Coincident Indicator Index came in at 117.9 in May, lower than the initially reported 118.5.