According to market analysts, the local stock market is expected to remain stagnant due to the challenges faced by the US economy. They are advising investors to construct a defensive portfolio to counter the high levels of volatility. The benchmark Kospi has been experiencing sluggish performance, with concerns about the US economic recession contributing to its fluctuation around 2,500 points, marking a drop of approximately 100 points from its previous closing at 2,681 points on September 2. Foreign investors have withdrawn over 4 trillion won ($3 billion) from the Kospi in the first eight trading days of September, continuing the trend from August. September is historically a slow month for stock markets globally, including Korea's. Daishin Securities reported that the Kospi has experienced an average loss of 6.28 percent every September since 2021, surpassing the 6 percent average of the Morgan Stanley Capital International emerging index. Analysts are recommending investors to fortify their stock portfolio defensively to prepare for potential increases in volatility. They anticipate the stock market to remain flat for the near future, with no significant factors to drive economic and policy improvements. Analyst Kim Dae-jun from Korea Investment & Securities projected that investors should maintain a defensive stance while waiting for opportunities for a market rebound. Furthermore, some believe that the local stock market could start to recover in October, supported by potential rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. It is anticipated that the US Fed will execute a 25-50 basis points rate cut at a rate-setting meeting on September 17-18, which could result in an inflow of foreign capital into the local stock market and provide room for the Bank of Korea to implement a key rate cut. Analyst Yang Hae-jeong from DS Investment & Securities speculated that the valuation of the Kospi has already fully reflected recession concerns and that the stock market is likely to stabilize in October and prepare for a rebound. Additionally, there are expectations of signals indicating improvement towards the year-end due to the time gap in the monetary policy.