Time now for an in-depth look at the market news this afternoon.
And for that, I'm joined on the line by Dr. Kim Sei-wan, Professor of Economics at Ewha
Womans University.
Professor Kim, thank you for coming on today.
Thank you.
Let's start with stocks on Wall Street.
After the massive declines we saw over the past few sessions, finally a tick upwards
on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.
The Dow, though, lower again.
Investors, it seems, are waiting for those inflation numbers due out on Wednesday in
the U.S. What's the story today in the global markets?
Here
in Korea today, stocks were a bit of a mix.
The KOSPI up and down during the session, but slightly lower in the end.
Chipmakers closed somewhat higher, as did carmakers.
The exchange rate still elevated.
Tell us about the domestic market, Professor.
The Korea Development Institute, in its report
this month, says there are growing downside risks for the Korean economy.
The impact of the pandemic is reduced now, but overseas there's the war in Ukraine disrupting
supplies of commodities, and rising interest rates in the United States.
What do you see in this report from KDI, and what's your view?
Finally, Professor, the new government in Korea is going to submit its first extra budget
this week to the National Assembly.
The focus is providing relief payments to small businesses.
But there's concern about what even more money being put into the economy will do to inflation.
Consumer prices in Korea have risen less than in some other countries.
What's your view on the extra
budget and inflation?