Kospi Hits Record High, Asian Stocks Remain Resilient
Asia-Pacific markets rallied on Monday despite lingering tariff uncertainty. The main driver came from US President Donald Trump's announcement that he was raising the global tariff plan to 15% from 10%, just days after the US Supreme Court invalidated most emergency-authority-based tariff policies.
Market participants believe the court ruling disrupts Trump's approach to tariffs, but it does not automatically invalidate the entire tariff framework. Some economists warn that if the new tariff threshold is fully implemented without exceptions, average tariffs could rise again, maintaining high volatility.
In South Korea, the Kospi rose for the third consecutive session, surging 1.7% to a new record. Large-cap stocks led the gains, with SK Hynix rising more than 3% and Samsung Electronics rising around 2%. The small-cap Kosdaq index also rose around 0.74%. Meanwhile, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged higher, and Hang Seng futures indicated a higher open, while Chinese and Japanese markets were closed for holidays.
In commodities, oil prices reversed downwards, erasing early gains. Brent weakened to around US$71.33/barrel, and WTI fell to around US$65.96/barrel. On Wall Street, US stocks rose on Friday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.69%, the Nasdaq 0.9%, and the Dow 0.47%, as the market viewed the court ruling as giving companies some breathing space from the burden of tariff costs—although the future direction of policy remains uncertain. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
