◆Aju Economy Major News
▷Retail investors sell off as KOSPI and KOSDAQ drop amid market downturn
- Despite Samsung Electronics' strong second-quarter performance, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ fell by 1.23% and 2.70%, respectively, marking three consecutive days of decline in the domestic stock market.
- Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged early in the session on performance expectations but ultimately gave back their gains and closed lower, with individual investors net selling 1.4199 trillion won in the securities market.
- Investor deposits have decreased by 21.55% to 109.593 trillion won compared to early June highs, and the balance of margin trading loans has dropped by 14.59% in just over a month, indicating a clear decline in individual investor sentiment.
- Recently, brokerages have lowered their target prices for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, reflecting concerns about the AI semiconductor market.
- Analysts suggest that the recent stock price adjustments are more influenced by a decline in investor sentiment rather than deteriorating performance, and they foresee a potential recovery in sentiment following the earnings announcements of large-cap stocks.
◆Major Reports
▷Semiconductors: End of Adjustment, Start of Rebound [KB Securities]
- The KOSPI's sharp decline in July is attributed to excessive adjustments due to short-term supply and demand distortions rather than fundamental deterioration, with analysts stating that the market has entered a phase where a rebound is possible.
- The KOSPI has fallen 41% from its June peak, surpassing declines seen during the IMF crisis (-27%), the global financial crisis (-23%), and COVID-19 (-36%), indicating an oversold condition.
- With big tech's memory demand fulfillment rate at only 60%, it is expected that a memory supply shortage will persist for at least the next three years as new production capacity expansion takes time.
- Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are seen as having superior performance competitiveness compared to Micron, while their valuations are significantly lower, suggesting that current stock prices are excessively undervalued.
- Considering the potential for improved performance and increased shareholder returns in the second half of the year, a rebound in the semiconductor sector is imminent, with Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and LG Innotek identified as top picks.
◆Key Announcements After Market Close (30th)
▷Chey Tae-won purchases 4.8 billion won worth of SK Hynix shares
▷Kumho Tire reports second-quarter operating profit of 182.2 billion won, up 4% year-on-year
▷OncoCross signs contract for digital biobanking 'protein analysis service'
▷POSCO Holdings reports second-quarter operating profit up 34%, driven by improvements in battery and infrastructure revenues
▷HL Manpo reports second-quarter operating profit of 107 billion won, up 2.8% year-on-year
▷SK Innovation reports second-quarter operating profit of 3.4873 trillion won, returning to profitability
◆Fund Trends (as of 29th, excluding ETFs)
▷Domestic equity funds: +53 billion won
▷Overseas equity funds: +27.1 billion won
◆Key Schedule for Today (31st)
▷South Korea: Retail Sales (June), Industrial Production (June)
▷Japan: Tokyo Core Consumer Price Index (July)
▷China: Manufacturing and Services PMI (July), Caixin Manufacturing PMI (July)
▷Eurozone: Consumer Price Index (July)
▷United States: Consumer Sentiment Index (final July)
* This article has been translated by AI.
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