U.S. Large Banks Report Strong Q2 Earnings; BlackRock, Morgan Stanley Surge on July 15

According to the financial investment industry, major U.S. financial institutions posted strong performances during their second-quarter earnings season on July 15-16. BlackRock became the first asset manager to exceed $15.3 trillion in assets under management, surging 14% this month. Morgan Stanley, bolstered by investment banking and trading gains, rose 9% over the same period. JP Morgan Chase advanced further, with its market capitalization reaching $929.5 billion and approaching the $1 trillion milestone for a bank.

Meanwhile, South Korea's four major financial groups gained traction following the Bank of Korea's 25 basis point rate hike on July 16. Hana Financial Holdings rose 19.37%, KB Financial 13.90%, Shinhan Financial 12.63%, and Woori Financial 8.62% through mid-July, significantly outperforming the KOSPI's -19.54% decline. Institutional investors net purchased over 1 trillion won of the four financial groups in just two weeks, with KB Financial attracting 606.8 billion won of those purchases.