According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean stocks fell below 6,500 points again after a month and a half, with foreign investors net selling for the fifth consecutive day, and the index's rebound lacking momentum. The South Korean KOSPI index fell more than 2% intraday on the 12th, ultimately breaking below the 6,500-point mark after a month and a half. Despite Samsung Electronics' record-breaking earnings on the 8th, foreign investors continued to sell South Korean stocks, and the KOSPI index seems unable to find a breakthrough for a rebound. The South Korean KOSDAQ index fell more than 3%. Samsung Electronics fell about 2.6%, and SK Hynix fell more than 3%, with the two leading semiconductor stocks falling sharply, dragging down the KOSPI index.
Foreign investors continued to net sell on the day, making it difficult for the index to find support. As of now, foreign investors have net sold 966.8 billion won, marking the fifth consecutive trading day of net selling. Institutional investors net sold 39 billion won, while individual investors net bought 751.5 billion won. In the KOSPI electrical and electronics sector, which includes semiconductor stocks, foreign investors net sold 879.9 billion won, and institutional investors also net sold 155 billion won. Only individual investors maintained net buying, amounting to 781.1 billion won.
Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Daewoo Mirae Asset Securities, stated, "The two leading semiconductor stocks, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, are digesting the 'bubble theory' surrounding OpenAI, which is why their stock prices are weakening." However, it was later discovered that this difference was not due to a decrease in actual revenue, but rather to different accounting methods of revenue calculation. Considering that the Nasdaq index rebounded 0.64% the following day, the bubble theory triggered by OpenAI alone seems insufficient to fully explain the KOSPI index's weak performance.
Another regrettable situation is that despite positive market feedback after Samsung Electronics released its third-quarter results, the Korean stock market failed to rebound, reflecting that investors are not only focused on current performance but also have doubts about the sustainability of the semiconductor supercycle and the HBM competitiveness of companies.
