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, good afternoon.
Thanks for coming on the program today.
Thank you.
U.S. stocks retreated a bit overnight, with the biggest declines on the Dow at about 1-and-a-quarter
percent.
So the rally of the last week maybe losing steam.
The tensions with China over Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan, still a lot of concern about
what the Fed's going to do.
What's the story in the global markets?
Korean stocks, meanwhile, were higher today.
We've seen continued net buying by foreign investors.
Strength today in insurance, entertainment shares, food.
The KOSDAQ up by even more, but the exchange rate still high.
Tell us about
the domestic market.
Consumer data from
last
month showed inflation in Korea at 6-point-3 percent.
Prices in restaurants were up by the most since 1992.
Food and fuel have been the big drivers of inflation.
What do you see in this inflation data, Professor, and when is it going to ease off?
We've seen data in China and the U.S. indicating some weakness, though
the situations are quite
different
in those countries.
Anyway, that could mean lower demand for oil, which has come down significantly in price
from its recent peak.
With OPEC plus due to meet soon, what do you see happening
with
oil prices?