As SK Hynix ADRs Surge, Foreign Investors Turn to Net Buying of Samsung Electronics; Samsung SDI Draws Attention With ESS Pivot After GM JV Ends

This may be linked to liquidity issues in Korea, and the unique supply and demand environment of the Korean market could have played a role.

The case shows the limit of the Korean stock market in immediately reflecting moves in the US market. Even when overseas evaluations are positive, analysts say share price gains at home can be constrained by other factors.

Concerns were raised about discussions to expand after-hours trading on the Korean market. Critics argue that Korea's stock market lacks ample liquidity, so an after-hours session could sharply increase short-term trading turnover and make the market vulnerable to speculative moves by foreign investors.

If after-hours trading becomes active, short-term speculators are likely to disrupt the market, which could harm its soundness over the long term. Given the characteristics of the domestic market, the prevailing view is that a cautious approach is needed.

As short sellers step away, trading volume thins out, and stock prices tend to rise easily even on small volumes.

This can be interpreted as a temporary phenomenon that occurs as market volatility decreases and the influence of certain players diminishes. It is a point where the market's dynamics shift under the particular conditions of the holiday season.

Even as the Nasdaq index fell, memory chip-related stocks remained strong. Large semiconductor companies such as Nvidia, Broadcom, ARM, and AMD were relatively weak, but US equipment stocks rose sharply on news of Intel's rights offering and factory construction.

This shows that investor expectations are forming differently across specific segments even within the semiconductor industry. In particular, news of expanded new production facility investment has been a key driver of the rally in equipment stocks.

Memory chip-related stocks rose across the board. SK Hynix ADRs gained 4.7% for the first time in a while, Micron rose 0.8%, Seagate 2.44%, and SanDisk continued its gains from the previous day with a rise of over 2%. The overall DRAM sector rose 2.6%, maintaining a solid trend.

This reflects expectations for a recovery in the semiconductor cycle. In particular, the outlook for rising memory chip demand and price recovery is seen as having driven share prices higher.

Cloud services company CoreWeave announced strong earnings, and its positive outlook on the conference call sent its shares up more than 12%. CoreWeave's rally has spilled over into interest in domestic cloud-related companies such as Naver. In addition, after Lumentum Holdings reported solid results, domestic optical communication stocks such as RF Materials and RFHIC are expected to be affected as well.

These moves reflect expectations for expanded data center and communications infrastructure investment, a positive factor for the growth potential of related domestic companies.

Analysts say foreign investors view the stock with a positive outlook and see it moving upward.

This foreign net buying reflects trust in Samsung Electronics as a leading domestic company, along with expectations for a semiconductor industry recovery. It is expected to be an important variable for Samsung Electronics' share price moves going forward.

NC Soft plans to release a global blockbuster game every year, and 'Aion 2 Global' is scheduled to launch in the second half. Meanwhile, NHN is drawing attention by showing the potential of 'GPU as a Service' in numbers.

This means NHN has the potential to build a new service model using GPUs, moving beyond being a simple game company. Both companies are securing growth drivers in their own areas, drawing investor expectations.

However, this was interpreted not as a surface-level negative but as a positive. The reason is that the idle factory could be converted into an ESS (energy storage system) production base.

There is precedent: after the Stellantis joint venture factory was wound down and an ESS factory was built, earnings improved. Analysts argue that the end of the GM arrangement will likewise create an opportunity to focus on the ESS business. Analyst Kim Hyun-soo diagnosed the concern as a 'complete misunderstanding.'

The market feared loss of a beachhead in local markets, lack of a partner to expand sales, and higher solo investment burden, but Kim analyzed the situation from a different angle.

He argued that liquidation allows the company to concentrate on the ESS business, which it is already doing well, and that this could lead to upward revisions of earnings estimates. With the US electric vehicle market currently sluggish, he judged that focusing on ESS rather than automotive batteries is more advantageous for SDI.

Under the former joint venture structure (51:49 equity split), profits had to be shared, but after liquidation Samsung SDI will fully own the factory and can keep all profits.

In particular, ESS-related margins are high enough, including subsidies, to push operating margins above 20%, which is expected to contribute significantly to profitability. This is seen as a very positive change for Samsung SDI, contrary to the market's initial misunderstanding.

Despite hardships, including being attacked after issuing a target-price downgrade report at the time, he earned trust by proving his valuation. He is recognized for the tenacity, stubbornness, and confidence to hold firm on what he believes is right despite outside pressure. There was also mention that analyst Kim Hyun-soo and Director Han Byung-hwa went through a lot.

NHN rose 5% and is drawing attention even in premarket trading. Investors had viewed NHN only as a former game company, but recently it is being re-rated as its data center business and the payment business through NHN KCP are recognized for significant potential.

This shows NHN has succeeded in diversifying beyond games and secured competitiveness, particularly in IT infrastructure and fintech. This structural change in its business is acting as the main driver of the share price gain.

This can be read as capital flows being reshaped toward promising industries as the investment environment changes. The heated AI chip market is absorbing even funds from the crypto market.

Looking at supply and demand, a notable feature was that individual investors were the only buyers of the stock yesterday, concentrating their firepower.

This shows individual investors treated the decline as a bargain-buying opportunity, defending the share price and pushing it higher. It is an example of concentrated individual buying creating an unexpected rebound in the market.

The current share price trend is shifting in a positive direction, with the 5-day moving average just breaking above the 20-day line. Today's movement is important, and a view was presented that if the stock settles at 1.3 million won, it is worth challenging 1.6 million won.

This is a technical-analysis projection of Samsung Electronics Mar's upside potential, and it raises expectations for a share price recovery alongside the positive market mood.

Its valuation had once been 70-80x, and while 40-50x was expected on next year's basis, it has now dropped to 33x. The analysis holds that it has entered an undervalued phase, falling to 20x on a basis two years out.

A falling PER means the share price has become cheap relative to earnings, which could be an important factor raising the likelihood of a rebound. Unlike the past, when it priced in earnings two years ahead, the assessment is that it has now reached a reasonable valuation.

Throughout July, they suffered sharp declines without any particular bad news. Although they are well below their highs, they are moving near the bottom and showing signs of possible recovery.

This can be interpreted as an undervalued phase caused by excessive market correction, and the analysis suggests room for a rebound as market conditions improve. Investors are closely watching the movements of power equipment stocks.

The piece depicted a psychological trap that individual investors commonly fall into. When they profit 500,000 or 1 million won in a single day, it is easy to fall into the illusion that 'I don't need to work?' or 'Am I a genius?' Such fantasies of short-term gains can lead people to pour all their money in, ultimately resulting in large losses. The picture of investors who wake up at 8:50 a.m. sharply, feeling both excitement and anxiety over price moves, captures the reality for many individual investors.

Especially during July, when the stock market struggled for the whole month, even getting out of bed in the morning was likely hard, a sympathetic description added. This is a reminder for investors to guard against emotional judgment and approach the market carefully.

Foreign investors are currently selling across the KOSDAQ, KOSPI, and futures markets, making it important to check the direction of their buying and selling. In particular, whether the KOSPI 200 futures hold the 1,000-point support level is expected to be a key indicator for gauging the market's direction.

This again underscores how much foreign flows affect the domestic market. Closely watching whether this key support level holds is essential for investment strategy.