The benchmark KOSPI slipped 0.80% to around 4,003 on Thursday, erasing gains from earlier in the week as weakness in chip and automotive stocks weighed on the index. Samsung Electronics (-1.15%), SK Hynix (-3.44%), LG Energy Solution (-0.60%), SK Square (-5.15%), KB Financial (-1.14%), and Shinhan Financial (-0.88%) were the primary contributors to the decline, whereas Hyundai Motor (3.75%), Samsung Biologics (0.97%), and Doosan Enerbility (0.64%) offered modest support. Despite the overall decline, expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut helped cushion the fall. Weaker-than-expected US economic data reinforced hopes that the Fed will reduce borrowing costs the following week. Officials indicated that a 25-basis-point cut is likely at the December 12 meeting, with further easing possible next year, and Fed funds futures now assign an 89% probability to the move, up from 83.4% last week.
