US-Iran Mediated Talks to Focus on '7-Day Plan'; SpaceX Starship Reaches Orbit for First Time; South Korea's KOSPI Falls Below 7,000

US and Iran to Hold Mediator-Brokered Talks as '7-Day Plan' Returns to the Table

Diplomatic contacts between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear issue have shown new movement. Mediators including Qatar are pushing for indirect talks between the two sides in the coming days, and Iran's previously proposed '7-Day Plan' may become the focus of these contacts.^[1]

Reuters reported on Sept. 28 that Qatari mediators are expected to hold separate meetings on the 28th or 29th with Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi and U.S. representatives, with talks expected to focus on a revised version of the '7-Day Plan' that Iran proposed last week during the UN General Assembly. It is not yet clear who will represent the United States in talks with the mediators.^[1]

Iran has said it has no intention of holding direct talks with the U.S. in New York. The Iranian delegation traveled to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, and its agenda did not include plans for a new round of negotiations with the U.S. Araghchi will depart for home on the 29th after completing his scheduled itinerary.^[1]

Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Iranian officials are privately pessimistic about reaching an agreement before the U.S. midterm elections in November that would end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. These people said talks between Iran and the United States last week during the UN General Assembly in New York made little progress; Iran believes the likelihood of escalation after the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3 is high.^[1]

SpaceX Starship Reaches Orbit for First Time, Mission Ends Early

SpaceX's flagship rocket Starship successfully entered Earth orbit for the first time on Monday, completing the commercial space company's most ambitious mission to date. This means the giant rocket, which cost more than $15 billion and took nearly a decade to develop, has finally crossed a key step from suborbital tests to orbital flight.^[2]

According to Reuters, Starship lifted off from Starbase in Texas at 7:49 a.m. local time on Monday. Although one engine shut down early during the flight, the spacecraft continued to perform a key burn after engineers assessed the situation in real time and successfully entered its planned orbit.^[2]

The mission was originally planned to last about 10 hours and circle Earth six times, but SpaceX ultimately decided to end the flight early. The flight team expected to command Starship to deorbit three hours after it entered orbit. While in orbit, Starship also deployed 26 V3 Starlink satellites for the first time. Musk posted on X that the V3 satellites were operating normally.^[2]

The rapid reversal in news also triggered premarket market swings. After the engine failure news was announced, SpaceX-related stocks fell about 2% in premarket trading; after the company confirmed it would still attempt to reach orbit, the shares quickly recovered to near flat. After U.S. markets opened on Monday, SpaceX opened higher but closed down 2.16%. The Nasdaq closed down 0.92% that day.^[2]

South Korea's KOSPI Falls Below 7,000, Turnover Hits Year-to-Date Low

South Korean stock market trading continued to cool, with KOSPI turnover falling for six consecutive months to its lowest level of the year, while retail and foreign investors net sold in tandem, as the market waits for U.S. PCE data and Micron's earnings for direction.^[3]

Korea Exchange data showed that from the 1st to the 23rd of this month, the average daily turnover of KOSPI-listed stocks fell to 0.50%, the lowest level so far this year. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares each dropped more than 5% in a single day, dragging the index back below the 7,000 mark on the 28th to close at 6,889.74.^[3]

Turnover has continued to decline after peaking at 1.74% in March—falling to 1.48% in April, 1.13% in May, 0.81% in June, 0.72% in July, 0.54% in August, and further narrowing to 0.50% this month—declining for six consecutive months. As of the statistical period this month, retail investors and foreign investors net sold 16.69 trillion won (about $11.9 billion) and 16.42 trillion won (about $11.7 billion), respectively, on the KOSPI main board.^[3]

On the 28th, dragged down by a sharp rise in U.S. long-term Treasury yields, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 5.05% and 5.43%, respectively, to close at 270,000 won and 1,768,000 won, becoming the main drags as the KOSPI plunged 2.70% that day.^[3]

Investors are now focused on two major pieces of information due on the 30th: the U.S. August personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index and Micron Technology's quarterly results. Daishin Securities researcher Lee Kyoung-min said: 'The core of the issue is not interest rates themselves, but what kind of momentum can overcome interest-rate pressure; the market's focus will now shift to fundamentals.'^[3]