The global influx of funds driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom is rapidly spreading beyond leading semiconductor companies to encompass domestic materials, components, and equipment (known as 소부장), as well as power infrastructure and aerospace sectors. Small to mid-sized equipment stocks are experiencing stock price increases of several hundred percent.
According to the Korea Exchange, an analysis of the stock price trends of major AI value chain companies listed on the domestic stock market from the beginning of the year until June 16 revealed that the most explosive growth was seen in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) equipment and materials sectors.
During this period, stocks such as JUSUNG Engineering surged by 717.69%, followed by Aspro (351.21%), PSK (339.30%), TES (279.80%), VM (206.29%), and Jostem (180.55%). This surge is attributed to the supply shortage of HBM from Nvidia, which has increased the value of domestic post-processing and materials and components companies. Hanmi Semiconductor, a leader in the materials sector, also saw a 157.85% increase after institutions net purchased 1.6414 trillion won.
Market interest is now shifting towards infrastructure and physical AI sectors. Due to the significant rise in power consumption by AI data centers, companies in the power infrastructure sector, such as Hyosung Heavy Industries (118.53%) and Sanil Electric (95.23%), have recorded sharp increases.
Notably, funds are also flowing into the aerospace sector, which is considered a hidden player in next-generation AI infrastructure. Companies like Hanwha Systems (75.59%), Korea Aerospace Industries (35.40%), and Hanwha Aerospace (25.72%) may not have shown as dramatic stock price increases compared to materials and components, but they have each established market capitalizations in the trillion-won range.
In particular, Korea Aerospace Industries saw institutional investors net purchase 299 billion won during this period, supporting its stock price. Expectations that advancements in AI, including autonomous driving and robotics, will stimulate demand for satellite communication networks and other space infrastructure have contributed to this trend.
Investor funds are also moving towards physical AI and device sectors. Robotics-related stocks, such as Doosan Robotics (39.74%) and Rainbow Robotics (30.92%), are expanding their market capitalizations amid buying pressure from institutions and foreign investors.
A securities industry official stated, "The flow of funds in the AI gold rush is becoming more sophisticated, moving from semiconductor manufacturing to materials and components, power infrastructure, aerospace, and robotics. We are now seeing a clear influx of long-term funds from foreign and institutional investors aiming to secure large infrastructures, shifting away from the initial focus on equipment stocks."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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