The Bank of Korea’s consecutive rate hike to 3.00% on August 27 signals aggressive monetary tightening to address domestic economic imbalances, even as global markets face trade frictions. Meanwhile, robust earnings from Nvidia appear to be overriding macroeconomic headwinds, driving a sharp morning rally in Korean tech equities on August 27 and offsetting the mild declines recorded in US markets during the prior session. This divergence highlights how micro-level tech sector strength continues to battle macro-level pressures from rising interest rates and escalating geopolitical trade disputes.
Korea. On August 27, the Bank of Korea delivered a consecutive 25-basis-point rate hike to 3.00%, entering a 3% rate era to curb persistent economic pressures. Despite this tightening, the KOSPI surged 2.17% to 6,955.87 in early morning trading on August 27, fueled by Nvidia’s strong earnings, building on the prior-session gain of 0.97% on August 26.
US. US equity markets closed slightly lower in the prior session on August 26, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.02% and the Nasdaq declining 0.08% as investors digested inflation data. Sentiment remains constrained by escalating trade tensions, highlighted by Canada’s retaliatory tariffs of 15% to 50% on approximately $20 billion of American goods.
Meta and state attorneys general settled a federal trial centering on allegations that company misrepresented the extent of child-related mental health harms.
CNBC
A trade war between Canada and the United States is escalating. Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on about $20 billion worth of American goods, after new 50% US tariffs on Canadian products took effect Saturday. But the tit-for-tat over goods has also taken on a cultural and linguistic dimension.
France 24
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iran even as the unpopular and costly war drags on with no end in sight and no sign that the United States is close to achieving any of the lofty goals he set for the conflict. Trump posted an image of himself along with Iran’s slain former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei against a stylised landscape background of punishing US air and missile attacks. “2026 Mission Accomplished”, a caption reads. The slogan evokes former...
SCMP
International relations has long measured power through familiar instruments: military capability, territory, energy, capital and control of trade. The digital revolution added information to that equation. Artificial intelligence (AI) is taking the transformation further by turning information into a strategic capability that can shape economies, governments and societies. For the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the central question is no longer whether Southeast Asia will...
SCMP
Among those charged are two Super Micro employees and one from Nvidia, marking another flashpoint in US-China AI rivalryTaiwanese prosecutors charged nine people on Monday, including one from Nvidia and two from Super Micro, for illegally exporting “high-end AI servers” to mainland China, adding another wave of turbulence in the AI rivalry between China and the United States.Prosecutors said the servers involved were graphics processing units known as “B300”, which have been banned from sale to China.Continue reading...
The Guardian
The KOSPI is attempting to recover the 7000 level, boosted by the recovery of semiconductor investor sentiment following Nvidia's strong earnings. As of 9:15 AM on the 27th, the KOSPI is at 6955.87, up 147.66 points (2.17%) from the previous session. The index, which had rebounded for two consecutive days until the previous day to settle at the 6800 level, started 2.76% higher today and is raising its high, surpassing the 6996 level immediately after the opening. Overnight, the New York stock market closed slightly lower as it digested the July Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data, but the mood reversed after the market closed as Nvidia reported strong second-quarter earnings. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.21% from the previous day, while the S&P 500 Index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index also closed down 0.02% and 0.08%, respectively. After the regular market close, Nvidia announced that its revenue for the second fiscal quarter (May-July) reached $96.22 billion, doubling from the previous year, marking the company's 13th consecutive quarter of record revenue.
동아일보
The Bank of Korea raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.00% per annum. Following last month's rate hike, which was the first in one year and two months, the bank has embarked on "back-to-back hikes" for two consecutive months. The Monetary Policy Board of the Bank of Korea met on the morning of the 27th at the Bank of Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul...
국민일보
The Democratic Party of Korea has held a meeting with Seoul district mayors from the same party to discuss housing supply plans. Considering the tension between Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the government over housing supply plans, it appears they are trying to find a way to 'bypass' the Seoul mayor. Democratic Party lawmakers representing Seoul constituencies and Seoul district mayors held a policy meeting at the Seoul Metropolitan Democratic Party headquarters on the morning of the 27th to discuss housing supply plans in Seoul.
조선일보
On the 27th, the Monetary Policy Board of the Bank of Korea raised the benchmark interest rate from 2.75% to 3.0% per annum at its monetary policy direction meeting. This is the second consecutive month of benchmark interest rate hikes, following the one in July. It has reopened the 'era of 3% benchmark interest rates' for the first time in one year and nine months....
한국경제
Democratic Party of Korea Representative Kim Young-jin, who is considered an "original pro-Lee Myung" lawmaker, said on the 27th regarding the decline in President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating, "Because they released tax policies first when there was no supply policy in real estate policy, the backlash resulting from that was actually quite significant."...
네이버뉴스