KOSDAQ Rotation: Beyond Semiconductors Unconfirmed

Solar, offshore wind, and bio stocks are seen as isolated movements rather than continuous rotation. In contrast, continuous rotation is occurring within the semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment sub-sector. At this point, directly trading supply-chain stocks or investing in related ETFs is the more efficient approach.

Park Yong-jin, PB at KB Securities Myeongdong Star PB Center, believes that unlike the early stage of a rally, earnings generation becomes critical in the late stage.

As high interest rates raise corporate interest burdens and discount rates, the market tends to move toward stocks backed by earnings. Rallies are concentrated in leading stocks rather than entire sectors.

He stressed that checking EPS revisions (upward estimate changes) is the core of the investment strategy.

The analysis suggests that instead of chasing stocks that have surged, it is better to buy stocks that have pulled back. A simple profit-taking strategy is effective for individual investors.

The market is judged to be a technical rally driven by capital flows rather than valuation. Park Yong-jin advised selecting stocks that show rising trading value and foreign net buying.

Most pharmaceutical and bio companies have weak financial structures and struggle to generate profits. In particular, few companies on KOSDAQ are profitable, and most have high debt ratios.

During a period of rate hikes, the default risk of high-debt bio companies inevitably rises. Because bio sector companies have low correlation with one another, the rise of a specific stock rarely leads to a rise across the whole sector.

Accordingly, Park Yong-jin explained that responding to individual company events, such as clinical trial results or FDA approvals, is more effective.

PB Hwang Dae-geun advises approaching pharma-bio stocks individually rather than grouping the sector together. If you hold large caps such as Alteogen or Hanmi Pharmaceutical, averaging down through additional purchases to lower your cost basis can be an effective way out.

On the other hand, for little-known small-cap stocks, it is wiser to cut losses and switch to other sectors. He judges that there are currently few pharma-bio stocks attractive enough to surpass semiconductor materials and parts.

The robotics sector is attracting attention as a long-term growth area in physical AI. The market is expected to open around 2028 to 2029, led by Nvidia.

Given current market liquidity, large-cap robotics stocks may move sluggishly. Accordingly, Park Yong-jin stressed that investing in companies where actual sales and orders are confirmed is more important than chasing short-term surging stocks.