Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and making news.
POSCO Holdings posted stronger operating income in the third quarter of two thousand twenty six, though net profit fell year over year. Investors looked past the bottom line, sending shares higher on the belief that core steel operations are holding up better than feared amid persistent global demand uncertainty.
Shifting to Seoul's broader ambitions, South Korea unveiled a record budget for two thousand twenty seven, up nearly thirteen percent to eight hundred twenty point nine trillion won. Embedded in that figure is a twenty one point three trillion won commitment to semiconductors, physical AI, and data center infrastructure, as the government explicitly targets what it calls the world's highest performance sovereign AI model. That is a significant policy signal for the chip and tech supply chain.
On the medical device front, Johnson and Johnson reported that its investigational Shockwave Javelin coronary catheter exceeded both primary endpoint goals in the pivotal FORWARD CAD study. The company also presented favorable Impella survival data at the TCT conference, reinforcing the case for its cardiovascular portfolio ahead of what analysts expect to be a closely watched product cycle for JNJ.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
