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This 5.1% is highly likely to act as a critical threshold directly impacting corporate profits.

"Based on the third quarter, the appropriate interest rate for the current US economic strength is 5.1%," said Kim Hyo-jin, emphasizing the importance of this figure given the current economic situation.

"In the early stages of interest rate hikes, the stock market definitely feels pressure on stock prices, but afterward, it shows signs of digesting the situation," Kim Hyo-jin explained, highlighting the market's learning effect.

Although an interest rate hike itself is unwelcome news, the benefit of reduced uncertainty is considered greater.

"I even think it would be better to raise rates in September," Kim Hyo-jin said, emphasizing the importance of eliminating uncertainty from a long-term perspective.

Kim Hyo-jin warned that the worst approach for the market is to raise interest rates late and then do so haphazardly and quickly. She analyzed that the rapid rate hikes between 2022 and 2023, in particular, negatively impacted the market.

She explained that gradually raising interest rates with sufficient prior notice leads to better market performance. "Raising interest rates late and then doing it haphazardly and quickly is the worst approach," Kim Hyo-jin emphasized, advising against a situation where one starts late and then has to solve problems later with a shovel.

These institutional changes could affect the market in a structural way rather than direct rate suppression.

"Such institutional changes are difficult for us to understand because they are like legal texts written in very complex language and can actually be tucked away in obscure places," Kim Hyo-jin said, suggesting that these changes can subtly play out.

She emphasized that now is the time to carefully observe and watch what the next steps will be. "Well, anyway, we need to think about how we should respond to interest rates. We did raise them once already. Yes. Let's carefully watch what the next step will be," Yeo Do-eun said.

This is due to a surge in tax revenues, with a focus on strengthening support for semiconductors and future growth engines. The government is pursuing restructuring of unnecessary budgets amounting to 107 trillion won, demonstrating efforts to increase budget efficiency.

Yeo Do-eun said, "We are currently in a good situation. Tax revenues are coming in very high, so with such high tax revenues, the budget for next year has been set with total spending of 821 trillion won," explaining that the budget was compiled based on positive tax revenue conditions.

Park Byung-chang, an expert, analyzed that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were pulled up from negative territory to slightly positive, causing the index to rise to neutral. He explained that while the index is being defended through Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, other individual stocks are declining.

He advised that concerns about a 'melting market,' where account returns fall, are increasing, and thorough management is needed due to heightened market uncertainty in September. "As Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are pulled up from negative territory to slightly positive, the index rises to neutral; meaning, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are defending the index, while all other stocks are declining," Park Byung-chang described the current market situation.

Park Byung-chang predicted that if an interest rate hike occurs in September, there is a very high possibility of another hike in December, even if there isn't one in November. He worried that if the benchmark interest rate rises above 4%, the current AI bubble debate could intensify.

He therefore emphasized the need for a conservative approach and tightening response across all asset markets. "If an interest rate hike happens in September, I believe there's a very high chance of another one in December, even if it doesn't happen in November," Park Byung-chang said, warning about the interest rate hike scenario.

Park Byung-chang raised concerns about the current US benchmark interest rate reaching 5%. He recalled that the US benchmark interest rate was 5.25% in 2006, just before the 2008 global financial crisis, and analyzed that reaching 5% now could be riskier than back then, considering the current slowdown in economic growth.

He emphasized comparing the current situation with the precedent where growth declined after the 5.25% rate. "The US global financial crisis, actually, that's what the US defined it as, but it was the collapse of the US housing bubble. Before that, in 2006, the US benchmark interest rate was 5.25%. So, it reaching 5% now is because growth would have fallen since then, wouldn't it?" Park Byung-chang explained the situation back then.

Park Byung-chang acknowledged that the current stock market is clearly historically undervalued based on index multiples. However, he pointed out that an undervalued state does not preclude the possibility of further declines; instead, there could even be opportunities for it to become more undervalued.

Therefore, he emphasized the need to secure cash in preparation for such opportunities. "It's undervalued, but it could become more undervalued, couldn't it? But there could be such opportunities, so we should keep preparing for that and look for better opportunities. I'm explaining that this September might be like that. It's definitely undervalued," Park Byung-chang said, proposing a wise investment strategy.

Ha Chang-won, an expert, stated that an issue of delayed data center connection restrictions has occurred in Texas. This, stemming from an investigation into order uncertainty, has raised concerns about a bottleneck in semiconductor demand. While it does not yet mean a reduction in CAPEX (capital expenditure) investment, the feeling that data center-related developments are being delayed is not a good sign for the market, he analyzed.

He emphasized that although the industry's fundamentals are solid, such policy variables can impact the market. "Today, there was that issue. Texas had a delay in data center connection restrictions. This means that orders and such are not clear, so an investigation is needed. This is a part where the connection is somewhat prolonged, but it's not about reducing CAPEX investment. However, stories about data centers being delayed keep coming out, right? This is not very good," Ha Chang-won explained the situation.

He anticipated that if foreign selling is not substantial, share buybacks would create a tail to prop up the market.

Regarding the possibility of a sell-off after share buybacks end, he added that it would depend on the unfolding story of the semiconductor industry. "Foreign investor supply and demand might be somewhat important, but if it's not massive selling in trillions of won, I think share buybacks will create a bit of a tail," Park Myung-seok said, emphasizing the importance of share buybacks.

He mentioned that the report is very strongly written, maintaining a positive view on semiconductor materials, components, and equipment stocks, as well as MLCC (Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor) related stocks.

"A second surge is highly likely soon. This is Hong-sik's title. The report content is very strongly written," Park Myung-seok said, introducing the optimistic outlook from the securities industry.

Lee Geon-gyu, an expert, explained that historically, September in midterm election years has seen poor market performance due to policy uncertainty. He analyzed that the uncertainty of which party would win affected stock prices.

However, he emphasized that a bottom-up strategy focusing on corporate earnings does not need to change despite external variables such as interest rates or exchange rates. "However, in years with midterm elections, September was not very good. This is because of policy uncertainty and not knowing which party would win, so September was a bit bad in midterm election years," Lee Geon-gyu said.

Lee Yeon-gyu, an expert, provided three reasons to expect a market rebound after September. First, positive news is expected when HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) annual contract price negotiations conclude in September, with HBM prices projected to more than double next year. Second, stock prices have historically shown a pattern of significant increases starting about 20 days before midterm elections. Third, falling oil prices, which have been dragging the market down, could lead to interest rate stabilization.

"I think things could be good after September, and I can give about two reasons for that. First, when HBM annual contract price negotiations are completed in September, related news will likely come out. I expect HBM prices to more than double next year, so it will be a chance to confirm that. And stock prices usually rise significantly starting about 20 days before midterm elections. Lastly, I think oil prices are what's holding us back the most," Lee Yeon-gyu explained.

Lee Yeon-gyu, an expert, emphasized that the core issue is that increasing HBM production capacity (CAPA) means converting existing legacy DRAM production capacity to HBM, thereby reducing legacy DRAM production capacity. He noted that Samsung Electronics announced plans to triple HBM volume next year, and conversion investment is expected to fully begin in the third quarter.

Consequently, he predicted a high possibility that legacy DRAM could once again fall into a shortage. "I believe the key point now is that if HBM CAPA increases, existing legacy DRAM CAPA will be converted to HBM, reducing legacy DRAM CAPA. Samsung Electronics has announced plans to increase HBM volume by about three times next year, and conversion investment will become full-fledged from the third quarter. Therefore, I think there's a high possibility that legacy DRAM will also face a shortage again," Lee Yeon-gyu analyzed.

This means that most of the foreign selling pressure was focused on these two stocks.

This implies that foreign investors have made massive profits through major domestic semiconductor companies. "Foreigners saw an increase of 600 trillion won in Samsung Electronics and 750 trillion won in Hynix. Combined, that's roughly 1,300 trillion won in profit," the speaker stated.

Furthermore, he pointed out that in 78% of all cases, the top 10 wallets held 70-80% of the total supply.

This implies a structure highly vulnerable to market manipulation due to low liquidity and concentration among a few. "Among 707 high-profit memecoins, 54.46% of them fall into this category. More than 30% of the supply is controlled," Park Myung-seok stated, emphasizing the risk of memecoins.

Park Myung-seok, an expert, revealed that among 18.67 million memecoins analyzed, 68.67% ceased trading on the day of issuance. He pointed out that only 4.5% of the total coins continued active trading for over 90 days after issuance.

This data clearly illustrates the high risk of memecoin investment, suggesting that most memecoins are used for short-term speculation and are not sustainable long-term. "Among 18.67 million, 68.67% of them. Only 4.5% of the total 18.67 million coins saw active trading for over 90 days after issuance," Park Myung-seok explained, urging caution in memecoin investment.

Cho Dong-hyun, an expert, explained that coins are evolving from simple assets to having an equity-like nature in companies, making it crucial for companies to generate revenue and return excess profits to investors. He emphasized that the market itself is shifting in this direction, highlighting the need for a new perspective to view coins from a corporate profit standpoint.

He analyzed that profit-sharing structures, such as buybacks, are essential for coins to be recognized as equity. "Coins are now equity, and to be recognized as equity, a company ultimately needs to generate revenue and have a structure that returns excess profits to investors. The market itself is changing that way, isn't it?" Cho Dong-hyun said, explaining the changes in the cryptocurrency market.

Cho Dong-hyun, an expert, stated that recent easing of administrative regulations has enabled companies to actively conduct buybacks. As a result, continuously using excess profits for buybacks to increase token prices and return value to investors has become a market standard.

He emphasized that methods like Hyperliquid, where 97% to 99% of revenue is used for buybacks, are becoming standardized, and companies that do not perform buybacks are being shunned by the market. "They are continuously using their excess profits for buybacks to increase token prices, meaning they are returning value to investors," Cho Dong-hyun asserted, underscoring the importance of buybacks.