[Good Morning Market] Semiconductors Shine in High-Rate U.S. Market... Domestic Stocks Expected to Open Higher

Overnight Weakness in New York Markets

Semiconductor Index Rises on Optimism Over Anthropic's AI Investment Plans

The U.S. stock market, which had been sensitive to changes in international oil prices and interest rates, managed to pare earlier losses and closed the session with smaller declines, buoyed by investor expectations surrounding artificial intelligence (AI)-related investments. On September 30, the domestic stock market is also expected to ride an upward trend, supported by positive sentiment for AI semiconductors.

On September 29 (local time), at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 51,349.92, down 131.59 points (-0.26%) from the previous session. The S&P 500 index fell 12.85 points (-0.17%) to finish at 7,670.84, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 22.84 points (-0.09%) to 26,797.54.

On the 29th, employees at the dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, were monitoring the stock market and exchange rates. On that day, the KOSPI index opened at 6,844.41, down 45.33 points (0.66%) from the previous session, while the KOSDAQ opened at 843.87, down 2.71 points (0.32%). September 29, 2026. Photo by Cho Yongjun

The key factor influencing stock markets in the United States and other major economies recently has been concerns over long-term interest rates. On this day, the yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond surged to 5.612% during the session—the highest level since June 2002. The yield on the globally watched 10-year Treasury note also hit a new post-2007 high at 5.265%. However, later in the session, remarks from New York Fed President John Williams, who indicated there was "no need to rush" consecutive rate hikes, helped temper the rise in government bond yields.

Despite the weakness in international oil prices on this day, lingering inflationary concerns, stemming from the protracted standoff between the United States and Iran, continued to exert upward pressure on interest rates. Sangyoung Seo, researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, commented, "Despite falling oil prices and weak economic indicators, the increase in long-term bond yields stemmed from persistent caution over inflation and monetary policy."

Meanwhile, AI and semiconductor stocks showed strength. Optimism grew after it was revealed that Anthropic specified plans for large-scale investments totaling $518 billion in the AI sector over a 10-year period in its IPO filings. Micron rose 1.1%, Meta gained 3.2%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also advanced by 1.3%.

With semiconductor stocks leading the way, the domestic stock market is also expected to start on a positive note following these trends. The KOSPI200 overnight futures were up 0.95% as well.

Jiyoung Han, researcher at Kiwoom Securities, stated, “Amid a late-session decline in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield and the successful rebound of AI and semiconductor stocks such as Micron and Meta in U.S. markets, the domestic stock market is expected to open higher. However, today’s global fund rebalancing could still lead to net foreign selling in the domestic market.” She added that the previous day, the domestic market had plunged over 1% during the session amid the suspension of OpenAI’s model training and climbing U.S. 10-year Treasury yields.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.