Analysis of the Impact of US, China, and Korea Macroeconomic Variables on KOSPI and VKOSPI

Purpose - This article analyzes the impact of macroeconomic variables of the United States, China, and Korea on KOSPI and VKOSPI, in that United States and China have a great influence on Korea, having an export-driven economy. Design/methodology/approach - The influence of US, China, and Korea interest rates, industrial production index, consumer price index, US employment index, Chinese real estate index, and Korea's foreign exchange reserves on KOSPI and VKOSPI is analyzed on monthly basis from Jan 2012 to Aug 2023, using multifactor model. Findings - The KOSPI showed a positive relationship with the U.S. industrial production index and Korea's foreign exchange reserves, and a negative relationship with the U.S. employment index and Chinese real estate index. The VKOSPI showed a positive relationship with the Chinese consumer price index, and a negative relationship with the U.S. interest rates, and Korean foreign exchange reserves. Next, dividing the analysis into two periods with the Covid crisis and the analysis by country, the impact of US macroeconomic variables on KOSPI was greater than Chinese ones and the impact of Chinese macroeconomic variables on VKOSPI was greater than US ones. The result of the forward predictive failure test confirmed that it was appropriate to divide the period into two periods with economic event, the Covid Crisis. After the Covid crisis, the impact of macroeconomic variables on KOSPI and VKOSPI increased. This reflects the financial market co-movements due to governments' policy coordination and central bank liquidity supply to overcome the crisis in the pandemic situation. Research implications or Originality - This study is meaningful in that it analyzed the effects of macroeconomic variables on KOSPI and VKOSPI simultaneously. In addition, the leverage effect can also be confirmed through the relationship between macroeconomic variables and KOSPI and VKOSPI. This article examined the fundamental changes in the Korean and global financial markets following the shock of Corona by applying this research model before and after Covid crisis.