Stock Market Enters 'Super Week' in Late August... Hyundai Motor, Nvidia, Jackson Hole Meeting Held Simultaneously

The domestic stock market, which briefly showed signs of a rebound in early August, has turned downwards since August 12, increasing investor fatigue. The dull and stagnant market, which lasted for nearly two weeks until August 21, is dampening overall market vitality.

Manager Choi Won-beom explained the market trend in early August, saying, "Everyone saw this and said 'Okay, okay,' but from here it got a bit tangled. From August 12 until now, August 21, you can see it's been seven trading days, more than a week," referring to the frustrated expectations for a rebound.

Leading Korean companies Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are sending positive signals to the domestic stock market by solidifying their large-scale shareholder return policies. SK Hynix has completed its ₩40 trillion shareholder return policy, and Samsung Electronics has also concretized plans for a total of ₩100 trillion in shareholder returns.

Manager Choi Won-beom noted, "Hynix's three-part shareholder return was finalized on Friday. Okay, Hynix announced, and then Samsung followed suit," highlighting the consecutive announcements from the two major companies.

The 'Semiconductor Super Week' begins on August 24, and related major events are expected to significantly impact the domestic stock market until the second week of September. During this period, a focused investment strategy on the semiconductor, robot, and energy sectors is necessary.

Manager Choi Won-beom emphasized the importance of the upcoming week's schedule, stating, "It's Semiconductor Super Week. The schedules starting from tomorrow are very, very important. Because the schedules starting tomorrow will generally continue until the second week of September."

The Jackson Hole Meeting scheduled for this week is expected to be an important opportunity to gauge the Federal Reserve's (Fed) future monetary policy direction. While South Korea's interest rate decision is 99.9% expected to be frozen, attention at the Jackson Hole Meeting will also focus on the Fed's direction and former President Trump's messages regarding the midterm elections.

Manager Choi Won-beom explained, "South Korea's interest rate decision is 99.9% frozen, and at the end of the Jackson Hole Meeting, what is the meaning it conveys? The meaning of the Jackson Hole Meeting is the Fed's direction," emphasizing that the meeting is key to understanding the Fed's policy stance.

One of the chronic problems in the domestic stock market is the lack of corporate shareholder return policies. Manager Choi Won-beom criticized, "One of the biggest reasons why things haven't worked out is that there are absolutely no shareholder return measures. In fact, three out of ten companies have never paid a dividend even once," pointing out the practice of many companies not paying dividends.

However, the recent trend of concretizing shareholder return policies, led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, is viewed positively, and attention is focused on whether this change will spread throughout the domestic stock market.

The concretization of shareholder return policies by leading domestic large corporations like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix is expected to have a positive ripple effect across the market. Manager Choi Won-beom stated, "Because the two companies representing our country have confirmed shareholder returns, which had never happened before, look. The biggest brothers at the top have confirmed. The next smaller brother, then the third, then the fourth, are bound to follow suit.", suggesting the possibility that the movement of large-cap stocks will spread to small and mid-cap stocks.

This is raising expectations that the persistently low shareholder return rate, a chronic problem in the domestic stock market, may improve, and investors are focusing on the impact of large-cap changes on small and mid-cap stocks.

Robot-related issues are scheduled to be disclosed at Hyundai Motor's Investor Day, which is expected to lead to increased interest in semiconductor materials, components, and equipment (Sooboojang) and robot sectors. In particular, with Nvidia's earnings announcement approaching, market response strategies before and after are considered important.

Manager Choi Won-beom emphasized the alignment of several key events, explaining, "Robots are important because there's Hot Chips, there's Nvidia's earnings announcement, and we just saw Investor Day. Hyundai Motor Investor Day is held in the middle of this. It happens right when these are in full swing."

Investors need to meticulously analyze the robot-related announcements at Hyundai Motor Investor Day and the impact of Nvidia's earnings announcement on the semiconductor and robot industries as a whole.

It is crucial to confirm the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate decision stance at this Jackson Hole Meeting. The market is keenly focused on the Fed's specific direction, including the proportion of rate hikes, criteria for rate cuts, and the number of times rates will be held steady.

Manager Choi Won-beom stated, "Here, the direction of the Fed Chair. This time we definitely need to see it. We are only expecting one thing: what proportion of rate hikes will there be? What criteria will they use for rate cuts? And how many times will they hold rates steady?", predicting that the market's direction will largely depend on the outcome of the Jackson Hole Meeting.

The biotech sector, which is sensitive to changes in interest rate policy, can exhibit high volatility, requiring a cautious approach. Investors should focus on leading stocks with sustainable growth through technology exports, rather than unverified stocks.

Manager Choi Won-beom emphasized, "For biotech, only engage when I clearly give you the perspective. For biotech, you really only need to look at companies that are able to withstand challenges and can sustain themselves through technology exports," urging caution for new purchases.

As Bescent is set to announce sanctions against Iran tomorrow, the Iranian president mentioned that an agreement with the United States is a realistic way to break the deadlock in the war, signaling the possibility of negotiations. This raises attention to changes in the Middle East situation and their impact on the global economy.

The Iranian president stated, "An agreement with the United States is the most realistic and effective way for Iran to break the current deadlock in the war," expressing an active diplomatic will to find a solution.

Manager Choi Won-beom linked this situation to "Trump's negotiating style of 'ending with numbers' strategy," analyzing that interest is focused on how this sanctions announcement and Iran's reaction will affect future negotiation phases.

It has been suggested that the ultimate goal of artificial intelligence (AI) is 'Physical AI,' that is, AI in a tangible, physical form. This implies that AI technology can be applied to various fields such as mobile phones, humanoids, and quadrupedal robots.

Manager Choi Won-beom emphasized, "The ultimate final destination of all forms of AI is tangible AI. Just remember this," presenting the future direction of AI technology.

Indeed, transport robots (stockers) used in semiconductor factories can already be seen as a form of physical AI, and the application of such physically embodied AI is expected to expand further in the future.

Despite market concerns about the recent slump in Sooboojang (semiconductor materials, components, and equipment) stocks, a counter-argument suggests this is a temporary phenomenon and long-term growth potential remains high. High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) demand is projected to grow by an average of 70% annually until 2028, and HBM's share of total bit demand is expected to expand to 10%.

Manager Choi Won-beom said, "Sooboojang isn't moving now? If you're investing in Sooboojang now and finding it frustrating? Just wait a little while," expressing a positive outlook for the Sooboojang sector.

This strong increase in demand will lead to improved performance for Sooboojang companies, and the current stock price adjustment could actually be a buying opportunity.

The semiconductor supercycle is projected to continue until 2028, with the overwhelming increase in HBM4 demand leading the market during this period. This emphasizes to investors the need for a long-term perspective on the semiconductor sector.

Manager Choi Won-beom stated, "No matter how busy I am with stocks, or how difficult it was experiencing this crash, I shouldn't let go until 2028," clarifying that the period until 2028 is the peak for maximizing semiconductor profits.

This analysis suggests that the semiconductor sector, with such strong growth drivers, is worth long-term investment despite short-term market volatility.

Some of the top semiconductor materials, components, and equipment (Sooboojang) stocks have recorded significantly higher returns than Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, attracting market attention. Manager Choi Won-beom revealed, "Among the supply-demand driven stocks, the top-tier Sooboojang stocks have gone further than Samsung and Hynix," emphasizing the strength of Sooboojang stocks.

Indeed, year-to-date, Jusung Engineering has risen 5 times and PSK more than 4 times, while Samsung Electronics has only seen a 3-fold increase and SK Hynix a 4-fold increase. This suggests that investors should pay more attention to the top-tier Sooboojang stocks with strong demand.

Manager Choi Won-beom announced his plan to select the top 10 semiconductor Sooboojang stocks starting next week, and then execute rotational trading with three stocks showing strong rebound signals among them. This strategy is part of preparations to cover the entire September market.

Manager Choi Won-beom stated, "After selecting the top 10 Sooboojang stocks, pick the final three and start rotating. This work will officially begin only for VIPs," outlining his specific investment plan.

This strategy is interpreted as an effort to pursue efficient profits with limited resources and respond flexibly to market changes.

The 'robotization' trend is spreading within the semiconductor materials, components, and equipment (Sooboojang) industry, with some semiconductor equipment companies entering the transport robot market and securing new growth engines. Manager Choi Won-beom noted, "The current atmosphere is that companies within Sooboojang are increasingly becoming roboticized," drawing attention to this industrial change.

Companies like Semitic, which concurrently operate semiconductor and robot businesses, are cited as representative examples. These companies are expected to maximize profitability by adding robotics-related alpha (additional) revenue to their existing equipment sales.

This robotization is expected not only to increase the efficiency of semiconductor manufacturing processes but also to contribute to the growth of the robot industry, creating new market opportunities. Investors need to pay attention to Sooboojang companies that are securing such future growth engines.