<Anchor> This
is a friendly economic time.
Today (the 2nd), I will be with reporter Han Ji-yeon.
I think the stock market is very bad these days, both in us and in the US.
In particular, as of last April, contrary to the usual trend, the US stock market fell a lot?
<Reporter>
Yes, the US stock market is at its worst in two years, but the rule of 'increase in April' is broken.
In particular, the Nasdaq fell more than 13% in April alone due to weakness in tech stocks last month, the largest since October 2008, when the Lehman crisis occurred.
With macro factors such as the US austerity policy, Ukraine crisis, and China lockdown at work, there were expectations that big tech companies' earnings reports would make up for it, but even this was shattered. The stock fell more than 14% when it announced that it made a loss for the first time in seven years.
Google's parent company Alphabet also fell 18% in April alone.
Apple worsened investor sentiment when it said supply chain disruptions could cost up to $8 billion in revenue in the second quarter.
<Anchor>
So now, as a lot of big tech companies and tech stocks fall, the stock market is in such a bad state.
Why is that?
Why are tech stocks so bearish?
<Reporter>
Yes, these tech stocks have to prove their future value, that is, growth.
It is not the growth itself that is important, but how strong the momentum is.
If you look at Netflix alone, it is not that the total number of subscribers has decreased, but that the number of new subscribers has decreased by more than 40% in two days.
In the case of Alphabet, sales increased 23% in the first quarter, but growth slowed down compared to the 32% increase in the fourth quarter of last year.
This is how you see it.
As the corona virus entered the endemic phase, people began to move out of their homes, and growth was dampened by a combination of factors such as inflation, supply chain disruptions and higher labor costs.
<Anchor>
If the stocks of big tech companies in the United States, that is, growth stocks, fall a lot like this, I think it will affect Korean growth stocks.
<Reporter>
That's right.
Naver and Kakao are Korea's leading big tech companies, and many people ask if they should buy more of these stocks to reduce their losses.
As the stock price continued to fall this year, the combined market capitalization of the two fell by more than 25 trillion won.
The stock prices of Naver and Kakao are currently in the 280,000 and 80,000 won range, respectively, down more than 20% from the beginning of this year.
The KOSPI has fallen nearly 10% this year, which is more than double the figure.
The poor performance acted as a negative factor, but Naver recorded an 'earning shock' in the first quarter, which was below market expectations.
Operating profit decreased by more than 14% compared to the previous quarter.
Kakao announces earnings the day after tomorrow, but the outlook is not good.
Still, the ants are buying the stocks of the two companies, thinking that this is the bottom of the line. This year, they bought close to KRW 2 trillion and KRW 1.5 trillion, respectively, and ranked second and third in net buying.
<Anchor>
Now, what is the future outlook?
<Reporter>
The US Fed's FOMC is scheduled for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow to set the US benchmark interest rate.
Depending on the base rate set here, it is likely that the stock market will be affected.
There was also talk of a giant step raising 0.75%, but now the US economy is not doing well, so a big step that raises it by 0.5% is expected to be the most influential.
Usually, when the base interest rate rises, it becomes burdensome for companies to raise funds, which leads to a decrease in investment.
This will reduce the value of future earnings.
Also, as the deposit interest rate, which is a safe asset, rises, the attractiveness of stocks, which is a relatively risky asset, decreases.
Therefore, it is predicted that the New York stock market will continue to be bearish for a while.