Japan Raises Policy Rate to 1.25%, Highest in 31 Years
The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate to about 1.25%, a 31-year high, as Governor Ueda signaled a slower pace of further hikes.

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News on ETFs, funds, and financial instruments for product-focused investors. Covers active ETFs, fund performance, and new financial product launches in Korea.
The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate to about 1.25%, a 31-year high, as Governor Ueda signaled a slower pace of further hikes.
The Nasdaq rose in all four major rate-hike cycles since 1996, with sharp declines coming only after central banks started cutting rates.
Samsung Electronics raised its chip profit outlook to 370 trillion won as DDR5 server module prices jumped 5.5-fold in a year.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield topped 5% to 5.039%, its highest since 2007, as oil prices surged and 85% of economists polled by Reuters forecast a…
Most domestic covered-call ETFs delivered one-year total returns below their payout rates, as falling asset prices outweighed option premiums.
MMF assets fell 19 trillion won in five days while investor deposits rose 14 trillion won, as cash shifted toward Korean stocks.
Korea's daily stock volatility hit 4.1% in January-July, the highest among 30 major countries, the Bank of Korea said, citing leveraged ETF investing.
Investors split on Korean stocks as chip supply deals point to a steadier cycle while Jefferies warns of AI capital destruction.
The KOSPI reclaimed 7,000 intraday but closed at 6,954.52, down 0.58%, as oil prices, trade friction and U.S. inflation caution weighed on sentiment.
Anthropic has secured 14.8GW of computing capacity worth $517 billion in 11 months, intensifying its infrastructure race with OpenAI.
The Bank of Korea releases its revised second-quarter GDP figure on the 8th, after an advance estimate of 0.6% growth.
The yen rose more than 5 yen in two days to 155.3 per dollar, and banks warn a break below 155 could accelerate its gains.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick urged Samsung and SK hynix to expand U.S. chip investment, which trails TSMC's $265 billion Arizona project.
Korea's three-year treasury yield rose to 3.93% as the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield neared 4.8%, raising the prospect of 8% mortgage rates.
Samsung unveiled its CUBE strategy to optimize logic-memory placement for next-generation AI chips, alongside HBM5 and zHBM plans.
Samsung Electronics gains on HBM4 expansion while SK hynix falls 8.98%, as LS Securities moves the two target prices in opposite directions.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh called prices a bigger problem than jobs, lifting September rate-hike odds to 57% from 39.9%.
Fed officials pressed for action at Jackson Hole as July PCE rose 3.7%, topping forecasts, while the won closed at 1,372.5 per dollar.
The Bank of Korea raised its base rate to 3% and lifted its 2026 growth forecast to 3.3% from 2.6%, citing prices, the won and household debt.
Young Poong and MBK Partners filed for an injunction blocking voting rights on about 5% of Korea Zinc shares held by Chairman Choi Yun-birm's side.
As OpenAI and Anthropic near IPOs, U.S. firms launched five AI model ecosystem ETFs, with SK hynix a common holding across four of them.
Samsung Electronics shares fell 8.7% despite a record shareholder return plan of up to 110 trillion won, as a 10% ownership rule pushed payouts toward…
Nvidia's earnings, U.S. PCE data and a Bank of Korea rate decision are this week's key market risks, while SK hynix's buyback reshapes Korean stocks.
Samsung Electronics approved returning up to 110 trillion won to shareholders this year, five times its previous record and the largest ever by a Korean…
SK hynix will buy back and cancel 40 trillion won in shares, driving the KOSPI up 5.89% to retake the 6,800 level.
AI memory stocks slid as Samsung Electronics fell 7.82% and SK hynix 9.75%, while SK hynix announced a record 40 trillion won share cancellation.
Korea's won-dollar rate fell to 1,411.80, its lowest in 11 days, on expectations of a September Fed hold and foreign stock buying.
Fiscal expansion in the U.S., U.K. and Japan drove long-term bond yields sharply higher, and analysts warn Korea cannot be overconfident in its fiscal…
Korea's wild market swings are pushing investors toward diversified ETFs blending bonds, gold and dividends, as foreign buying lifts the KOSPI back above…
Samsung and SK hynix cash holdings jumped roughly 117 trillion won this year on the AI memory boom, while the won rose 9.4% and U.S.
KOSPI rose 3.68% to 6,579.04 for a third straight session as leverage unwinding wound down, while Fed officials struck a hawkish tone and corporate bond…
Nvidia has signed MOUs with six Wall Street firms to raise $500 billion for AI infrastructure, funded through SPV bonds resold as asset-backed securities.
KOSDAQ jumped 32.5% in seven sessions after single-stock leverage curbs, as money rotated from chip giants into KOSDAQ growth stocks, ETFs and materials.
Samsung Electronics has reached an 80% "golden yield" on its HBM4 memory, with UBS projecting it will overtake SK hynix in shipments next year.
Nvidia weighs cutting HBM capacity in its Rubin Ultra GPU amid memory shortages, while SK hynix commits 54 trillion won to new fabs and US solar tariffs hit Chinese polysilicon.
SK hynix hit a session limit-low on just 11 shares in the alternative trading system's pre-market despite a 1,100 trillion won market cap, renewing calls for volatility safeguards.
Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Board split over an August rate hike, with the decision hinging on two dovish members, as core inflation hit a 31-month high of 2.6%.
Amazon surpassed $3 trillion in market cap on 20% Q2 revenue growth and 37% AWS gains, while Samsung took Q2 DRAM share lead and Korea's production tax credit favors materials firms.
Brokerage target-price downgrades outnumbered upgrades for the first time in 15 months as the KOSPI plunged, while Samsung and SK hynix dropped 8% on profit-taking.
The US and Japan jointly intervened to defend the yen for the first time in 28 years as the yen-dollar rate hit 163.9, raising concerns over US Treasury selling and carry trade unwinding.
Amazon surpassed $200 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, with AWS operating profit up 64%, and plans to raise 2025 capital expenditure to $220 billion for AI investment.
China's CXMT surged 466% on its listing debut, shaking SK hynix and Micron shares, while Samsung posted record Q2 earnings on HBM4 sales and the Fed held rates.
The Bank of England is probing global banks' concentrated exposure to SK hynix and TSMC as AI-driven market plunges spread, while semiconductor ETF losses near 40% and retail leverage losses reach 56 trillion won.
The KOSPI plunged 10.84% on China chip fears as Samsung and SK hynix tumbled, while Nvidia's 73 trillion won data center lease revived circular financing concerns.
Debate over the AI supercycle intensifies as three warning signs emerge—oversupply, demand slowdown, and financing risk. SK hynix market cap falls to 87% of Samsung amid semiconductor correction.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix signed AI chip supply deals worth $950 billion (1,390 trillion won) with Broadcom, Nvidia, and Microsoft, shifting memory contracts to five-year long-term agreements.
Hana Financial raised its ROE target to 12% while Woori Financial plans to cancel 150 billion won in treasury shares, as Korea's four major financial holding companies posted record first-half net profit of 11.3 trillion won.
Alphabet raises annual capex forecast to about 300 trillion won as cloud revenue surges 82%. Korea posts 0.6% Q2 GDP growth, won-yen falls below 900, and KB and Shinhan report record profits.
As the KOSPI fell to the 6,000 range, Wall Street banks including Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan called a market bottom, while the yen hit a 40-year low and IBK halted variable-rate mortgages.
Oracle's five-year CDS premium hit a record 2.03 percentage points amid doubts over AI profitability, while Hormuz risk sent crude oil ETFs surging and investors shifted to overseas 3x leveraged ETFs.