Market Overview:
1. On Thursday, the South Korean KOSPI index closed up 3.21%, rebounding more than 20% from its closing low on July 30, officially entering a technical bull market. The two memory chip giants, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, closed up nearly 6% and 4% respectively.
2. The South Korean KOSPI index plummeted 22% in July, marking its worst monthly performance since the global financial crisis.
Institutional Views:
1. Peter Kim, Global Head of Investment Strategy at KB Securities: The AI rally and profit growth persisted throughout the sell-off, so fundamentals are driving the market back to normal. Valuation and earnings are not the root of the problem; technical factors and capital flows are the main reasons for the sell-off. With regulators tightening rules, brokerages resuming regular risk control, and the liquidation of leveraged positions easing, the market fundamentals may be more stable than before the crash.
2. Phillip Wool, Head of Research at Raylink Financial Intelligence: The South Korean stock market is currently essentially a trading platform for AI hardware. This rebound is partly driven by technical factors, as forced selling subsided, bargain hunters returned, and FOMO (fear of missing out) spread. However, better-than-expected earnings strengthened AI spending expectations and supported upward revisions to growth forecasts for South Korean hardware companies. A pullback is possible at any time should the narrative falter—such as weak capital spending guidance or concerns about Fed tightening.
3. Global X Strategist Billy Leung: South Korean corporate governance reforms and value enhancement plans help narrow the "Korean discount." While the KOSPI index is in a bull market, the key is whether the rally is driven by fundamental improvement or speculative sentiment. I personally lean towards the former, as semiconductor earnings expectations continue to be revised upward, but increased retail participation and high index concentration are already showing signs of late-cycle decline.
4. Fibonacci Asset Management CEO Jung In-yoon: Be cautious about the current bull market assessment. This rebound involves both technical corrections and a genuine return to stability. The baseline scenario is that the broader bull market trend will continue, supported by improved semiconductor earnings and risk appetite, but the pace of the rally will slow—consolidation after a sharp rebound is healthy, and investors should not expect a sustained rise at the same speed.
