Seoul Economic Daily汇总Jackson Hole鹰派、美韩汇率与三星生物配股等多条已公开市场信息

▲ AI PRISM* Personalized Economic Briefing
* Editor's note: AI PRISM (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an artificial intelligence-based personalized news recommendation and summary service developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six tailored news items for each reader type.
[Key Issue Briefing]
■ Hawkish Pressure at Jackson Hole: With economic uncertainty mounting from the war in Iran, Kevin Warsh, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, signaled his commitment to the 2% inflation target in his first keynote address. He stopped short of detailing specific rate policy plans, however, adding to market frustration over the Fed's communication.
■ Won at Yearly High: The dollar weakened on expectations that Warsh would refrain from delivering a hawkish message at Jackson Hole, and the Bank of Korea's rate increase added to the won's strength. The won closed at 1,372.5 per dollar, down 8.4 won from the previous session and its strongest level in 13 months.
■ Reversal in Estimates: Target price downgrade reports, which poured out after last month's market slump, have thinned noticeably in recent weeks, and upgrades have once again overtaken downgrades. Improving corporate earnings forecasts and easing market volatility are lifting expectations that the KOSPI will reclaim the 7,000 level next month.
[News of Interest to Financial Product Investors]
1. Hawks Speak Up From the Start: Warsh Faces Heavier Burden Over Jackson Hole Message
- Key summary: As Kevin Warsh, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, delivered his first Jackson Hole keynote address, participants offered a string of hawkish remarks favoring tighter monetary policy. Jeffrey Schmid, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, assessed that inflation remains stubborn, while Beth Hammack, president of the Cleveland Fed, said now is the time to act. The U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index for July, released on the 26th, rose 3.7% from a year earlier, above the market forecast of 3.6%, while core PCE inflation held at 3.3%, unchanged from the previous month. Separately, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to double the size of long-term Treasury buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation from $2 billion, putting him at odds with Warsh, who has viewed high market rates favorably.
2. Won Closes at 1,372.5 per Dollar, Setting Another Yearly High
- Key summary: In the Seoul foreign exchange market on the 28th, the won closed at 1,372.5 per dollar, down 8.4 won from the previous session and its strongest close since July 24 last year. It touched 1,371.8 during the session, a new high since July 25 last year. The currency opened at 1,380.5 and extended its gains as exporters sold dollars at month-end and custody-related selling emerged late in the session. The Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Board also lent support to the won a day earlier by raising its benchmark rate to 3.00% from 2.75%, a 0.25 percentage point increase. The won-yen cross rate fell to 860.61 won per 100 yen, its strongest level since July 2024.
3. Brokerages Lift Target Prices Again: Will the KOSPI Reclaim 7,000?
- Key summary: According to FnGuide (064850), brokerages issued 47 target price upgrade reports over the past week against 42 downgrades, reversing the recent trend. For the month as a whole, downgrades still dominate at 562 versus 355 upgrades, but the pace has cooled from last month, when 827 downgrades more than doubled the 411 upgrades. The KOSPI has not closed above 7,000 since reaching 7,096.89 on the 23rd of last month, and it ended the session down 1.79% at 6,788.88. Still, 12-month forward earnings per share has risen about 6% from the end of last month while the forward price-to-earnings ratio has declined, leaving valuations at historically low levels, analysts said. The KOSPI 200 volatility index has also retreated to mid-April levels, indicating that the volatility seen during last month's slump has subsided.
- Key summary: Samsung Biologics (207940) filed a securities registration statement on the 28th for a rights offering issuing 2.27 million new shares, with total proceeds of 3.0009 trillion won based on an expected issue price of 1.322 million won per share. The funds will go toward acquiring PolyPeptide Group, a Swiss global peptide contract development and manufacturing organization, with the remaining 294.8 billion won earmarked for expanding the second bio campus in Songdo, Incheon. The global peptide drug market, worth $94 billion last year, is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 13.4% to reach $200 billion by 2031. The market response was cool, however. Shares closed at 1.486 million won, down 6.78% from the previous session. Shareholder pushback is also expected over the decision to choose a rights offering rather than corporate bonds, given the company's solid finances, with a current ratio of 179.7% and a debt-to-equity ratio of 51.3%.
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