iShares MSCI South Korea ETF

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index recovered today after five straight losses.

Australia’s S&P ASX 200 was the best-performing index in the Asia-Pacific region on July 3. The index gained 0.59% on the day to end near its 12-year high at 6,685.5.

Australia’s ASX200 lost marginally today. Although the index was trading higher until noon, it erased those gains afterward. 70 stocks gained, while 118 fell. BHP Group (BHP) outperformed the index with marginal gains, while Rio Tinto (RIO) gained 0.64%.

Australia’s ASX200 recovered today after a loss on Friday. After losing 0.55% on Friday, the index rose 0.22% today. Out of 200 stocks in the index, 83 advanced, while 103 retreated. 14 stayed unchanged today. BHP Group (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) were among the gainers, while News Corp (NWSA) lost 1.29% on the Australian Stock Exchange today.

Australia’s market was back in business today after yesterday’s holiday for the Queen’s birthday.

The Nikkei 225 gained today after losing marginally yesterday.

South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.1% on June 5 after ending almost flat the previous day. EWY rose 0.71% on June 4.

South Korea’s KOSPI, which gained yesterday, retreated today.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index followed China’s lead today.

South Korea’s KOSPI, which gained in the last two sessions, fell today.

South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.18% on May 22 to end the day at 2,061.25. It was the index’s second consecutive gain.

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index has continued its dream run while most other Asia-Pacific stocks seem to be under pressure.

South Korea’s KOSPI continued to fall for the second straight day on May 17. The index, which fell 1.2% on May 16, extended its losses by another 0.58%.

KOSPI, the benchmark index in South Korea, fell 1.2% on May 16 to end up at 2,067.69.

South Korea’s KOSPI remained in the green on May 15. The index gained 0.53% on the day to end at 2,092.78.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which generally follows the mainland’s lead, closed 2.39% lower at 28,311,07 on May 9.

Qualcomm’s (QCOM) business practices have come under regulatory scrutiny in various countries including China, South Korea (EWY), Europe, and the United States.

Today, Xilinx (XLNX) stock is beating the charts with an increase of over 18%, and it’s still growing as its third quarter of fiscal 2019 earnings and guidance beat analysts estimate by a huge margin.

A few iPhone models face the risk of an import ban under Apple’s ongoing patent infringement lawsuit with Qualcomm and South Korea.

The semiconductor industry has been at the center of the US-China (FXI) trade war as the two countries together account for the majority of worldwide semiconductor sales.

Over the last two years, DRAM prices have more than doubled due to growing demand for high-performance devices.

Applied Materials (AMAT) supplies SME (semiconductor manufacturing equipment) to chip makers all over the world.

Lam Research (LRCX) expects its shipments to fall $100 million sequentially to $3 billion in the June quarter.

Lam Research (LRCX) was among the first semiconductor companies to release its fiscal 3Q18 earnings for the quarter that ended on March 25.

Given that global semiconductor revenues reached $400 billion in 2017, China’s (FXI) proposal to increase semiconductor imports from the US appears positive.

Whereas China (FXI) is the largest consumer of semiconductors in the world, it meets most of its needs through semiconductor imports.

As we observed in the previous part of this series, Wall Street analysts expect a revenue decline of 27% YoY (year-over-year) for BlackBerry (BB) in fiscal 4Q18 with revenue of $216.8 million.

At the end of 3Q17, Statista estimated Western Digital (WDC) to have a share of 17.5% in the NAND (negative AND) Flash memory market.

In the chart below, we can see that net bookings for Electronic Arts’ (EA) Mobile platform rose 5% YoY (year-over-year) to $183 million in fiscal 3Q18.

EA’s FIFA franchise remains one of the leading games worldwide. It has approximately 42 million players on console platforms PlayStation (SNE) and Xbox (MSFT).

Fitbit in a transition phase During Fitbit’s (FIT) 4Q17 earnings call, CEO James Park stated that Fitbit is in a multiyear transition process. The company aims to leverage its core brand assets, data, and large customer community. Fitbit needs to focus on product innovation to beat competition from Apple Watch and peers Garmin (GRMN), Korea’s (EWY) Samsung […]

While North Korea and South Korea (EWY) have initiated talks recently, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions mean that tensions will always remain in the region despite temporary overtures of peace from both sides.

Qualcomm opposes a takeover bid by Broadcom (AVGO) because it feels the latter’s management may not give justice to its transformative 5G opportunity.

The cryptocurrency market has had a rebound. As of February 7, 2018, in the early morning hours, all digital currencies had rebounded from their previous day’s close. Bitcoin rose 22.8%.

The sharp rise and fall in the price of bitcoin are mainly because ownership of the currency is heavily concentrated in just a few hands.

Ripple struggled on Monday and couldn’t manage to post significant gains.

About $200 billion was wiped off the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market due to the recent fall in cryptocurrency prices.

North America and Latin America continued to be the largest market for Oracle (ORCL). The Americas region accounted for 56% of the company’s total revenues in fiscal 2Q18.

Stock markets around the world rallied in 2017. Asian equities, in particular, grabbed investors’ attention in 2017, as they have been outperforming other markets.

Apple (APPL) withheld $1 billion in royalty payments to Qualcomm (QCOM) in fiscal 3Q17, which slashed $1 billion directly from Qualcomm’s profits.

Over the past two years, Qualcomm has paid ~$2.7 billion in fines to regulators in China and South Korea and is now facing a $774-million fine from Taiwan.

Among the 35 OECD countries, the US has the highest corporate tax rate of 35%. This tax rate puts US companies at a disadvantage compared to their foreign rivals.

Samsung (SSNLF) shipped 311.4 million smartphones in 2016, a fall of 3% year-over-year compared to shipments of 320.9 million units in 2015. Samsung is the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer.

In this series, we’ll look at Micron’s end markets and its investments in each of these end markets.

Applied Materials’ revenues rose 45% year-over-year to $3.5 billion in fiscal 2Q17, as its foundry and display equipment sales rose in triple digits.

Malaysia’s trade surplus jumped to 9.9 billion Malaysian ringgit (MYR) (about $2.3 billion as of August 11, 2017) in June 2017—an 80% rise YoY.

Manufacturing activity in July 2017 South Korean (EWY) manufacturing activity dropped in the July 2017, with a sharp reduction in output. The Nikkei South Korea (EEM) manufacturing PMI decreased to 49.1 from 50.1 in June, according to an IHS Markit report. Manufacturing activity in South Korea returned to contraction, with reduced orders for its key export markets, […]

Exports from Indonesia (EIDO) in June 2017 stood at $11.6 billion, a fall of 11.8% on a year-over-year basis and 19% on a month-over-month basis.

Business confidence in the manufacturing sector in South Korea (EWY) has remained stable at 78 in July 2017.

The South Korean (EWY) Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) rose to 50.1 in June 2017 compared to 49.2 in May 2017.

South Korea’s (EWY) unemployment rate rose to 3.8% in June 2017 compared to a four-month low of 3.6% in the previous month.

South Korea’s (EWY) consumer confidence continued to remain steady at 111.2 in July 2017 compared to 111.1 in the previous month.

Slower growth in exports, manufacturing, and investments impacted economic activity in South Korea (EWY) in 2Q17.

South Korean equities are soaring in 2017, with the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (or KOSPI), its benchmark index, reaching an all-time high of 2,451.5 in July 2017.

While the weak global economic recovery has weighed heavily on Asian exports, domestic weakness has also played a role in the region’s economic slowdown.

Under Kim Jong-Un, North Korea has adopted a more aggressive stance toward its regional adversaries, fueling unprecedented tension in the region.

China’s (FXI) imports rose to $153.8 billion in June 2017, a 17.2% rise year-over-year (or YoY) and a 2% rise month-over-month.

Chinese (FXI) exports stood at $196.6 billion in June 2017, a rise of 11.3% year-over-year basis and a rise of 8.7% month-over-month.

Apple (AAPL) had a market share of 14.9% in the global Smartphone market at the end of 1Q17. Apple’s market share in 1Q16 was 15.4%.

After a year of contraction, the Nikkei South Korea (EWY) Manufacturing PMI increased to 50.1 in June 2017 compared to 49.2 in May.

Several external factors are expected to impact Indonesia’s economy in 2017. The US government’s protectionist stance is expected to influence global trade.

Oracle, like its peers IBM (IBM) and Microsoft (MSFT), generates a significant portion of its revenues from outside the United States.

Manufacturing PMI for South Korea (EWY) fell to 49.2 in May 2017 as compared to 49.4 in April 2017.

South Korea, Asia’s (AAXJ) fourth-largest economy, posted a decline in its unemployment rate to 3.6% in May 2017 as compared to 4% in April of 2017.

South Korea’s trade surplus saw a large drop to $6.0 billion in May 2017 as compared to $13.0 billion in the previous month.

South Korea’s (EWY) inflation rate rose to 2% in May 2017 as compared 1.9% in the previous month.

South Korean (EWY) stocks continued to surge in June 2017, gaining about 2% as of June 29.

Improved economic conditions Measures of business confidence in South Korea (EWY) show that manufacturers have become slightly optimistic about business and economic conditions. Exports continued to grow in April 2017, supporting an improved outlook. Business confidence saw the largest rise since March 2015, due to domestic and global economies’ (ACWI) (VT) recovery from the financial […]

Manufacturing activity in South Korea Although South Korea’s (EWY) manufacturing activity increased in April 2017, its pace of growth slowed amid tensions with its important trading partner, China (FXI). Currently, relations between China (MCHI) and South Korea (KOR) are under pressure due to the United States’ deployment of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) […]

South Korean economy The South Korean (EWY) (KOR) economy, an emerging market (EEM) participant, picked up the pace in 1Q17, despite geopolitical tensions. GDP growth in 1Q17 exceeded expectations, rising 0.9% quarter-over-quarter. Performance in 1Q17 was majorly driven by exports, which were supported by higher facility investments. However, the unemployment rate continues to rise, and is […]

Reliance on external sector The South Korean (EWY) economy is heavily reliant on the external sector. In 2015, it was the fifth-largest export economy (DBKO) in the world, according to the ECI (economic complexity index). China (FXI) is its largest trading partner, as the countries share a sea border. In April 2017, South Korea recorded a larger trade […]

South Korea’s economy in 2017 Asia’s (VPL) (EPP) fourth-largest economy, South Korea’s (EWY), showed some moderate signs of recovery in 1Q17. Improved global (ACWI) (VT) economic conditions have boosted the country’s exports and investments in the last two quarters. South Korea’s central bank has kept the key interest rate steady, and inflation has remained close […]

South Korean economy The South Korean (EWY) economy is currently affected by security threats from North Korea and several chaebols, or family-controlled companies. Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) (HYMLF), a chaebol, has been involved in a corruption scandal, like companies in many other emerging markets. However, on a positive note, most macroeconomic factors look promising thanks to new […]

Consumer confidence in South Korea South Korea’s (EWY) newly elected president aims to bring about economic and structural reforms. Consumer confidence in South Korea (DBKO) has jumped to the highest level in last three years. Let’s look at consumer confidence in South Korea over the last year. Rising consumer confidence in South Korea South Korea’s […]

South Korea’s (EWY) stock market soared to a new high recently, posting large gains across the Asia-Pacific region (VPL)(EPP). In this series, we’ll discuss what we can expect from South Korea for the rest of the year.

A higher allocation to Asia could certainly provide diversification benefits to investors while enhancing their risk-adjusted returns.

The EAFE Index provides exposure to slow-growing developed markets while disregarding Asia’s fast-growing markets (FXI) (INDA).

Although American investors have focused on domestic markets in the past, investors seeking long-term capital appreciation need to focus on Asia as well.

For the last three decades, Asia has posted higher economic growth than any other region of the world.

In April 2017, a binding arbitration ruling had Qualcomm pay BlackBerry (BBRY) $815 million plus interest and attorneys’ fees over licensing disputes.

Apple has acknowledged that Qualcomm should be paid for its SEP (standard essential patent), but it argues that the latter is charging an unreasonably high price for the license.

Qualcomm (QCOM) has been and continues to be the preferred choice of dividend-seeking investors because of its strong balance sheet and rich cash flows.

In 2016, US-based (SPY) Apple (AAPL) accounted for over 83% of operating profits in the smartphone space.

Applied Materials (AMAT) supplies semiconductor manufacturing equipment globally.

Qualcomm (QCOM) is a cash-rich company with $30 billion of cash reserves, $7.4 billion of annual operating cash flows, and $18.9 billion of net cash balance.

Net sales in the Nokia Technologies segment rose 109.0% year-over-year, driven by Nokia’s expanded licensing agreement with Samsung (SSNLF).

In fiscal 1Q17, Qualcomm’s (QCOM) operating cash flow fell 50% year-over-year to $1.4 billion.

In December 2016, the KFTC (Korea Fair Trade Commission) imposed a fine of $853 million on Qualcomm as it found the chip supplier’s licensing practices to be monopolistic.

Smartphone shipments to grow The iPhone, Apple’s (AAPL) flagship product, accounts for approximately 58% of the company’s total revenue. Any impact on revenue in this segment could significantly impact overall revenue. Research company IDC (International Data Corporation) estimates that global smartphone shipment growth slowed to less than 1% in 2016, compared with ~10% in 2015, […]

In terms of revenue, Western Digital (WDC) leads its peer storage companies with $17.7 billion, followed by EMC’s $15.9 billion.

The strengthening US dollar (UUP) has been pressuring the entire technology sector, and growth in Oracle’s (ORCL) top line is vulnerable to fluctuations in the dollar.

According to the 2015 trade statistics, China exported $483 billion worth of goods to the US, while the US exported just $116 billion worth of goods to China.

The rise in digital revenues for Activision Blizzard (ATVI) was one of the company’s major highlights in 3Q16. Driven by digital performance, the operating margin for Activision rose to 37% in 3Q16 from 26% in 3Q15.

Net sales in the Nokia Technologies segment rose 109.0% YoY, driven by Nokia’s expanded licensing agreement with Samsung.

Fitbit has increased its revenue significantly over the last five years. The company’s revenue rose from $76 million in 2012 to $745 million in 2014 and $1.9 billion in 2015.

In July 2016, the Europe-based (EFA) Nokia (NOK) and Korea’s (EWY) Samsung (SSNLF) agreed to expand their patent cross license agreement.

In 1Q16, Activision Blizzard (ATVI) completed its acquisition of King Digital. This acquisition has helped Activision’s MAU growth reach impressive levels.

Taiwan’s economy rose by 0.7% on an annual basis in 2Q16—compared to a contraction of 0.29% in the previous quarter and slightly above estimated forecasts.

The GAAP digital revenues for Electronic Arts (EA) in fiscal 1Q17 rose by 11% year-over-year to $689 million.

South Korea’s monetary policy committee kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1.3%—in line with expectations.