Daily Briefing · 2026-10-29

It confirmed 110 trillion won in shareholder returns, but the stock plunged immediately after the announcement due to unclear timing for share buybacks and cancellations, and the KOSPI also gave back the 6000 level. SK Hynix surpassed 100 trillion won in third-quarter revenue and recorded an operating margin of 80%, with DRAM and HBM supply sold out for the next three years, achieving its highest-ever operating profit for a sixth consecutive quarter. The U.S. Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate at 3.75 to 4.00% and decided to reduce FOMC meetings to seven times a year starting next year. U.S. third-quarter GDP growth came in at an annualized 3.4%, exceeding market expectations. Alphabet's revenue rose 25% to 171 trillion won, but as it poured 69 trillion won into AI capital expenditure, net profit fell 25% and free cash flow turned negative, sending its stock price plunging 10%. In the Czech Dukovany nuclear power plant project, the 27 trillion won construction contract negotiations between the consortium of KHNP, Daewoo E&C, and Doosan Enerbility finally collapsed over disagreements on construction costs, breaking an 8-year partnership. Shinsegae Department Store decided to acquire Lotte Department Store's Centum City branch in Busan and develop it into a mixed-use town combining shopping, culture, and tourism. KB Financial Group recorded cumulative net profit of 5.7921 trillion won for the first three quarters, achieving its highest-ever performance. Hyundai Motor's third-quarter revenue declined for the first time in 6 years, but operating profit actually increased, and the company also announced 2.6 trillion won in dividends and share cancellations. Samsung SDI turned profitable with a third-quarter operating profit of 407.8 billion won, driven by increased demand for ESS and battery backup units. A string of hacking and personal data leak incidents at Daishin Securities, Bithumb, SK Planet, and Jin Air has shaken confidence in security across the financial and retail sectors. Fixed-rate mortgage rates surpassed 5%, the highest in 14 years and 5 months, sharply raising household borrowing costs. Homeplus, facing financial difficulties, canceled its voluntary redundancy program and indefinitely postponed wage payments, and is facing a power cutoff crisis due to unpaid electricity bills. Anthropic is expected to stage the largest IPO of the year ahead of its Nasdaq listing in November, with a market capitalization of $2 trillion and an offering size of $100 billion. Foreign investors have net sold more than 200 trillion won since September, but are showing signs of recently shifting to buying, driven by AI growth prospects and shareholder return expectations.