USD/KRW Edges Higher, Net Equity Inflows Falter

1 month USD/KRW pushed higher post the Asia close. We got close to 1308 late in NY trading, before drifting a little lower into the close. Weakness in US equity sentiment weighed on the won, particularly in the tech space. Note onshore spot closed yesterday at 1304.45.

• The SOX fell by close to 5% overnight, while the MSCI IT index lost 1.30%. Micron offered a disappointing forecast around the chip demand outlook. This comes after Nvidia's revenue miss yesterday.
• This is creating fresh uncertainty over chip/tech demand backdrop as we progress through H2. The SOX index is now sub its 100 day MA, with the 50 day MA not far off at 2799.56, versus the last close of 2866.9.
• We may see the Kospi struggle, at least in the early part of trading (the index rose 0.4% yesterday), although its semi-conductor weight is not as large as Taiwan's, so the Taeix will also be eyed.
• Offshore investors sold local Korean shares yesterday, $101.5mn in net outflows, halting the recent run of net equity inflow momentum.
• Domestically, coming up shortly is unemployment figures for July. The market expects an unchanged result at 2.9%. Later on, lending to household figures will be released.