Korea Weekly Kickstart: KOSPI declined by 1% despite strong exports and manufacturing activity hitting 4-month high

KOSPI declined 1% this week despite strong exports and manufacturing activity hitting a 4-month high. Chemicals, Auto and Machinery outperformed, while Banking, Construction and Retail underperformed the most. Foreign investors continued to sell the KOSPI, driven by outflows for KOSPI Tech. KOSPI 12m-forward EPS was revised up 0.4%, with the Retail sector seeing the strongest upward revisions and Leisure revised down the most. The KRW strengthened 0.9% vs. USD, 0.8% vs. JPY and 1.7% vs. EUR. The Korea Equity Risk Barometer stands at 0.2, in risk-neutral territory. Korea's September exports growth surged 18.1% month-on-month from 1.7%, the strongest momentum since 1985, and manufacturing PMI edged up to the strongest expansion since May. Positive earnings revision momentum should persist given stronger manufacturing PMI and reaccelerating semiconductor export growth. US midterm elections remain an overhang;