▲AI PRISM* Customized Economic Briefing
*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an 'AI-based customized news recommendation and summary service' developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.
[Key Issue Briefing]
■ Hormuz Blockade and U.S. Treasury Yields Approaching 5%: As President Trump's repeated launches and halts of 'Project Freedom' sent Brent crude prices surging to the $114 range, the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield hit 5.02%. Michael Hartnett, Chief Investment Strategist at BofA, warned that "if the 30-year yield exceeds 5%, the gates of doom could open." Analysts say the current phase is simultaneously intensifying pressure from surging mortgage and corporate financing costs and forcing a rebalancing of risk assets.
■ Global Semiconductor Rally and Deepening Isolation of Chinese Tech Stocks: While the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) surged 54% since late March to hit an all-time high, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Tech Index fell 10.6% from the start of the year, highlighting a stark divergence. The market's common interpretation is that Chinese big tech firms, with heavy exposure to existing businesses such as e-commerce and gaming, are left out of the AI chip-driven rally.
■ Foreign Concentrated Buying on KOSPI and Asia Infrastructure Investment Restructuring: Foreign investors' share of the total KOSPI market capitalization reached 38.90%, the highest since March 2020, while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) formalized a $70 billion blueprint for a pan-Asian power grid and digital highway. Analysts project that the Middle East shock could serve as a structural turning point accelerating Asian supply chain realignment and infrastructure investment expansion.
[News of Interest to Global Investors]
1. Trump Pivots Sharply, Says "Progress with Iran"…Liberation Operation Halted in One Day
- Key Summary: President Trump halted Project Freedom within a day, saying he was close to signing a 14-item MOU with Iran. However, military tensions continued as the UAE intercepted 20 projectiles from Iran and a French-flagged cargo ship was attacked in the Persian Gulf. While Iran's Foreign Ministry expressed willingness to maintain negotiation channels, President Pezeshkian pushed back, saying U.S. pressure policy and negotiation demands were contradictory, signaling cracks in Iran's internal unity. The White House is awaiting Iran's response within 48 hours, and President Trump has signaled plans to put the Iran issue on the agenda at his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. With short-term resolution of the Strait of Hormuz conflict uncertain, analysts say investors need to reassess exposure to the energy, shipping, and defense sectors to reflect oil price volatility and maritime transport risks.
2. Chinese Big Tech Left Behind Alone in Global Tech Stock Rally
- Key Summary: While AMD's first-quarter revenue rose 38% year-on-year to $10.3 billion and Nasdaq hit an all-time high, Taiwan's TAIEX surged 41.8% from the start of the year, whereas the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 10.6%, sharply splitting the benefits of the global tech stock rally. Analysts say that even as Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu pursue AI in parallel, their business structures—heavily weighted toward e-commerce, gaming, and advertising—leave them structurally excluded from the semiconductor-led rally. SSCMP reported that thousands of complaints have poured onto Hong Kong social media over the Hang Seng Tech Index's underperformance. Analysts recommend a selective approach distinguishing between U.S., Taiwanese, and Korean tech stocks with verified direct exposure to the semiconductor supply chain and Chinese big tech.
- Key Summary: The KOSPI surged 6.45% to 7,384.56 on the 6th, setting an all-time high for the second consecutive day, while foreign investors net purchased 3.13 trillion won, pushing their market cap share to 38.90%, the highest since March 2020. Centered on Samsung Electronics (005930) (26.06%) and SK hynix (000660) (40.93%), the KOSPI 200 Information Technology Index surged 43.73%. The opening of omnibus account services by Samsung Securities and Hana Securities, enabling direct Korean market access for investors at Interactive Brokers (IBKR)—which holds over 4.6 million global accounts—forms the structural backdrop for the shift in supply and demand. Kang Dae-kwon, CEO of Life Asset Management, said, "Supply-demand momentum is positive through year-end," projecting that "breaking through the KOSPI 8,000 level within May is also possible." Observers expect global capital inflows into Korea's stock market to continue for the time being, as foreign direct investment access has been institutionally expanded.
[Reference News for Global Investors]
- Key Summary: At the Milken Global Conference 2026, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said, "The GCC region must be rebuilt with drone defense infrastructure, which will require trillions of dollars of capital." Citadel CEO Ken Griffin was optimistic, saying Iran's nuclear threat had been set back years to decades and that "our ability to withstand an oil shock is better than at any point in history." However, he warned that if negotiation gridlock persists for 6 to 12 months, recessions in developing countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh could cause a real decline in global GDP, potentially hurting the U.S. as well. Analysts note that the war is making massive private capital demand for drone defense systems, underground infrastructure, and data centers increasingly tangible, and that Wall Street has begun to concretize "Middle East Reconstruction" as an investment theme.
5. 'Inflation Liberation' Backlash Pushes Long-Term Bonds to the Brink at 5%
- Key Summary: The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield hit 5.02%, breaking the 5% line for the first time in 10 months, while Brent crude surged to $114.44 and WTI to $106.42, extending inflation fears to the bond market. At the Fed's FOMC meeting, 3 of 12 voters opposed even including language suggesting future rate cuts, and according to CME FedWatch, the probability of a rate freeze within the year stands at 61.4%, with a 30.4% probability of a hike. BofA strategist Hartnett defined 5% as the line in the sand, warning that exceeding it could force a repricing of all asset prices. Analysts say that as the role of U.S. Treasuries as safe-haven assets weakens during this surge in long-term yields, reducing long-term bond allocations in global investment portfolios and repositioning around short-term bonds and TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities) is valid.
6. "We Will Become the Control Tower for Billions of AIs"…ServiceNow Fully Opens Platform
- Key Summary: Enterprise workflow automation software company ServiceNow unveiled 'Action Fabric,' which connects any AI to automated workflows, at its annual 'K26' event in Las Vegas, fully opening its platform. Moving beyond its previous approach of only opening to partner models such as GPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot, the platform has been expanded to integrate with any AI agent. IDC projects that global AI agents will surge from 28.6 million in 2025 to 2.2 billion by 2030. On the same day, ServiceNow also unveiled 'ServiceNow Otto,' which integrates conversational AI, autonomous workflows, and search into one, stepping up its role as an AI control tower. Analysts say that as a platform strategy targeting the rapid expansion of the AI agent market, enterprise software (B2B SaaS) investors should pay attention to ServiceNow's competitive advantage in dominating the agent orchestration layer and its long-term subscription revenue growth potential.
▶ Read More: Korea's 30-Year Treasury Yield Also Breaks Year-High…"Expansionary Fiscal Policy Must Slow Down"
▶ Read More: "Opposing Ruinous Strike" New Samsung Electronics Shareholder Group Emerges with Criticism
