Wall Street 'rumors' sink Samsung and Hynix…Park Jin-hee, Department Head: "Now is the time to buy"

His diagnosis is that the industry's basic fundamentals remain sound, but numerous negative reports spread through the market and intensified the decline.

Using technical chart analysis, he had forecast the index would fall to around 5,500, and that forecast has materialized. The 5,500 level is where a gap formed during the earlier rally; the market has since filled that gap and entered a rebound phase.

Had the position been dumped onto the market, it could have triggered another, sharper collapse.

As dollar inflows were converted to won, the exchange rate declined, which had a positive effect on the market.

The mid-August options expiry could be a variable, but the market may change direction as it moves into late August.

This means the market impact may be relatively limited when the central bank actually raises rates. The market has already priced in to the point of considering the possibility of no rate hike in the second half.

SK Hynix achieved 60 trillion won against an expected 67 trillion won. Despite focusing on the high-margin DRAM business, it fell short of market expectations, which disappointed investors. On top of that, the shareholder return measures the market had anticipated did not materialize, triggering further disappointment selling.

Samsung Electronics runs a variety of businesses beyond semiconductors, but SK Hynix depends entirely on semiconductors. Nearly all of the recent negative news relates to the semiconductor industry, so SK Hynix fell further than Samsung and reacted more strongly.

Samsung Electronics dropped below 200,000 won and has since climbed back to the 260,000 won range.

His view is that current share prices for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are by no means expensive relative to earnings. He suggests approaching them through staggered buying, targeting a pullback after next week's rebound, while holding only about 30% of the total portfolio and spreading the rest across other sectors. The aim is to manage risk amid current volatility while still capturing the semiconductor sector's undervaluation.

He assesses that the KOSDAQ could reach 1,000 points, but that the likelihood is not high. He expects the second half to unfold as a 'stock-picking market' in which individual stock performance matters more than gains in the overall index. This means returns will come only from selected stocks rather than a broad rally.

China's ChangXin Memory has risen to 3,300 won-equivalent per share on its debut. However, it cannot be compared with Korean makers in advanced technologies such as HBM and DRAM. ChangXin's listing reflects expectations in China's chip industry, and in turn gives Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix an opportunity to have their technological edge and earnings value re-rated.

At present, it is absolutely impossible for ChangXin Memory to surpass Samsung Electronics or SK Hynix.

The root cause of data center construction stalling is a shortage of power supply. To keep pace with memory chip demand in the AI era, data centers must be built quickly, and if the power problem is not solved, this entire chain is blocked. Energy storage system (ESS) demand is also directly tied to power infrastructure, so energy supply is becoming the bottleneck determining the growth of the semiconductor industry.

In the age of AI, robotics and data centers, energy supply becomes a core competitive advantage. His judgment is that building a semiconductor cluster in Korea cannot rely on renewable energy alone without nuclear power. This suggests a possible re-rating of nuclear power stocks.

Doosan Enerbility currently has sufficient competitiveness. Once semiconductors settle down, rotation among stocks in the AI infrastructure sector is expected, and Doosan Enerbility could regain momentum as well.

Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Wia, SL and Hwashin, which belong to Hyundai Motor's ecosystem, are included in its robotics lineup, yet these future values are not fully reflected in the share price.

In the second half, investors should move away from concentrating in semiconductors and spread holdings across several sectors. Combining technical trading with a long-term holding strategy is expected to help recover assets recently lost.