[New York Stock Market Briefing] 'Quadruple Witching Day' sees bargain hunting inflow, leading to simultaneous rise... Tesla up 5%

Trump mentions "flexibility in reciprocal tariffs"

The three major indices of the U.S. stock market rose simultaneously on 'Quadruple Witching Day'. It seems to be due to the inflow of bargain hunting. U.S. President Donald Trump's emphasis on 'flexibility' in tariff policy was also positive.

On the 21st (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) closed at 41,985.35, up 32.03 points (0.08%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index rose 4.67 points (0.08%) to 5,667.56, and the Nasdaq index rose 92.43 points (0.52%) to close at 17,784.05.

It was 'Quadruple Witching Day'. Quadruple Witching Day is a period when index futures and options, as well as individual stock futures and options, expire simultaneously, showing high volatility. Before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange, geopolitical risks were heightened, such as Israel announcing that it could permanently annex parts of the Gaza Strip.

However, after the opening, the inflow of bargain hunting led the three major indices to close higher. By sector, real estate and materials fell more than 1%, while communication services rose more than 1%.

President Trump's remarks also seemed to have a positive impact on investor sentiment. President Trump told reporters, "Many people are asking me if they can get tariff exemptions," and expressed a negative stance by saying, "If I do it for one, I have to do it for everyone." However, he also revealed room for negotiation by stating, "There will be flexibility, but basically it's reciprocity," and "Flexibility is an important word."

Looking at individual stocks, Tesla surged 5.27%. Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, convened a company-wide meeting via X and ordered to continue holding the stock. Previously, Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce, also recommended buying Tesla stock, causing controversy.

Micron, which announced its earnings after the market closed the previous day, fell 8%. Although the guidance was positive, it is interpreted as being due to the last quarter's profit margin (37.9%) slightly falling short of market expectations (38.4%). Nvidia also fell 0.7%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 0.94%.

Boeing rose more than 3% on news that it was selected as the U.S. government's next-generation advanced fighter project contractor. Competitor Lockheed Martin fell about 6%. Nike fell more than 5%, stating that poor performance is expected due to the impact of the tariff war and weakened consumer sentiment.

According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch Tool, the probability of the federal funds rate being held steady by the end of June in the federal funds rate futures market has fallen to 22.1%. Instead, the probability of a 25bp (1bp=0.01% point) cut rose from 62.5% to 67.3%.

Jin Young-gi, Hankyung.com reporter young71@hankyung.com