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South Korea’s Kospi index reached a record high on Thursday, bolstered by recent positive economic forecasts and trade developments. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has adjusted its growth forecast for South Korea, projecting a 0.9% growth for 2025, up from the previous 0.8% estimate in their October outlook.
Globally, the IMF has also raised its growth projections, noting that the impact of U.S. tariffs has been “at the modest end of the range.” This optimistic view stems from several factors, including the nimbleness of the private sector. Companies have been quick to adapt by front-loading imports earlier in the year and reorganizing supply chains to better direct trade flows. Additionally, international trade agreements involving the U.S. and other countries, alongside a general restraint from countries worldwide, have helped keep the global trading system largely open.
Adding to the upbeat sentiment, South Korean markets were further uplifted by comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. In an exclusive interview with CNBC, Bessent revealed that the U.S. is nearing the completion of trade negotiations with South Korea, providing an additional boost to investor confidence.
The encouraging economic outlook and positive trade developments have contributed to the buoyant performance of South Korean stocks, reflecting broader optimism about the country’s economic trajectory.
It cited several reasons for upgrading the forecast, including the agility of the private sector, which front-loaded imports in the first half of the year and quickly reorganized supply chains to redirect trade flows; trade deals between the U.S. and other countries; and the overall restraint from much of the world, which largely kept the global trading system open.
South Korean stocks also received a boost after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in an exclusive interview Wednesday stateside that Washington was “about to finish up” trade negotiations with the Asian country.
“The devil’s in the details, but we are ironing out the details,” he added.
The autos, electronics and industrial equipment firms led gains on the Kospi index. Shares of Samsung Electronics rose 2.84% to an all-time high, while Hyundai Motor added over 8%. Kia also gained 7.23%.
South Korea’s Kospi soared 2.49% to close at 3,748.37, small-cap Kosdaq closed flat at 865.41.
Shares of SK Inc., one of South Korea’s biggest technology conglomerates, fell over 5% after the Supreme Court on Thursday partially overturned a previous ruling on Chairman Chey Tae-won’s divorce settlement, local media reported.
Last year, a lower court ordered Chey to pay about $1 billion to his estranged wife in a high-profile divorce lawsuit.
Meanwhile, shares chipmaker SK Hynix ended 7.1% higher.
Australian shares also hit new high
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 rose to a new record after the country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate jumped to a near four-year high in September at 4.5%. That compares with the 4.3% estimated by Reuters-polled economists and the 4.2% rate in August. The index added 0.86% to close at 9,068.4.
Meanwhile, employment rose by 14,900 in September, missing expectations for a 20,000 rise. The weak jobs reading paves the way for further interest rate cuts.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.27% to close at 48,277.74, while the Topix index added 0.62% to 3,203.42.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed flat at 25,888.51, while the Hang Seng Tech Index lost 1.18% to settle at 6,003.56. Mainland’s CSI 300 added 0.26% to close at 4,618.42.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Nio plunged 9% after Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund sued the Chinese electric vehicle maker for allegedly violating securities laws by inflating its revenues.
The lawsuit named Nio’s CEO Li Bin and former Financial Officer Feng Wei as defendants, according to a court document filed in August in the Southern District of New York court.
India’s benchmark Nifty 50 as well as the BSE Sensex were up 0.85% each as of 2 p.m. local time.
U.S. equity futures were slightly higher after major banks reported earnings beat, as Washington’s government shutdown entered its third week and escalating trade tensions with China persisted.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day little changed, down just 17.15 points, or 0.04% at 46,253.31. At one point in the day, the 30-stock index rose as much as 422.88 points.
The S&P 500 finished 0.4% higher at 6,671.06, after gaining as much as 1.2% intraday. The Nasdaq Composite ended up 0.7% at 22,670.08. It briefly rallied as much as 1.4%.
— CNBC’s Liz Napolitano and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this report.
