Goldman Sachs: South Korean stocks are expected to see a broad-based rally in the second half of the year; maintains KOSPI target of 12,000 points.
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South Korean stocks plunge 20%, nearing a bear market; the AI boom faces the awkward situation of "the more disastrous the earnings, the steeper the decline."
According to BlockBeats, on Wednesday afternoon, July 8th, South Korean stocks extended their losses as investors reassessed the outlook for AI demand. The KOSPI index fell by more than 6% at one point, breaking below 7200 points, and has cumulatively fallen by more than 20% from its all-time high last month, poised to enter technical bear market territory. Memory chip maker SK Hynix fell by as much as 5%, and Samsung Electronics fell by 6.9%. The Korea Exchange initiated a temporary trading halt on the KOSPI index, suspending algorithmic trading. South Korean stocks were among the strongest performing markets globally this year, but their performance is highly dependent on SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, amplifying volatility when sector sentiment weakens. Even with Samsung Electronics announcing a 19-fold surge in quarterly profits earlier this week, chip stocks continued to be under pressure. Jordan Klein, a TMT sector expert at Mizuho Securities, stated that investors overreacted to Samsung's preliminary second-quarter results. He believes this sell-off in semiconductor stocks is more a sign of waning momentum than a deterioration in fundamentals. Klein stated that excluding one-off bonus expenses, Samsung's operating profit actually significantly exceeded expectations, with its storage business implied operating margin potentially exceeding 80%. He indicated that Samsung's single-quarter operating profit has already surpassed the total of the past three years, and reacting to Samsung's stock price based solely on preliminary results is "extremely short-sighted." Meanwhile, an AI trading rotation occurred in Asian markets. Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks rose, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rising as much as 3.4%, the Hang Seng Tech Index rising over 5% intraday, Alibaba rising over 8%, and Tencent rising over 3%. Market analysts believe that funds are flowing from crowded trades focused on AI infrastructure to markets with lower valuations and more value-oriented characteristics. Reuters' report on DeepSeek's self-developed chip and The Information's report on Zhipu AI considering designing its own AI chip further fueled this rotation. (Jinshi)
South Korean beauty and retail stocks led the market gains, and Gate.com continues to expand its investment portfolio in South Korean stocks.
According to ChainCatcher, Gate's market data shows that the South Korean stock market was active today. Manyo Factory, a cosmetics stock, reached $11.60, up 18.43%; Heung Koo Petroleum reached $6.88, up 14.72%; and IT'S HANBUL reached $7.25, up 13.51%, with several popular South Korean stocks leading the market gains. Gate has established a 24/7 trading service system covering the three core markets of US, Hong Kong, and South Korea, supporting over 10,000 US stocks and ETFs, over 1,500 Hong Kong stocks, and over 1,000 South Korean stocks, totaling over 12,500 stocks and ETFs globally. Users can participate in global stock investment through their Gate unified account using USDT, supporting fractional share transactions starting from as low as 0.01 shares, and enjoying stock dividend rights. The platform also supports cross-brokerage transfers for US and Hong Kong stocks, as well as corporate actions such as stock splits and consolidations, further optimizing the stock investment service experience.
Analysis: South Korean stocks have plummeted more than 20% from their peak and are poised to enter a technical bear market.
PANews reported on July 8th that, according to Jinshi, the South Korean stock market continued its decline, with the KOSPI index falling by more than 6% intraday, accumulating a drop of over 20% since its June peak, poised to enter a technical bear market. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell by approximately 7% and 5% respectively, as investors reassess the prospects for AI demand. South Korea has been the world's best-performing stock market this year, but its over-reliance on two chipmakers makes it particularly vulnerable to shifts in industry sentiment. Leveraged ETFs amplified two-way volatility, further exacerbating market fluctuations. Despite Samsung Electronics' quarterly profit surging 19-fold this week, chip stocks continued their decline, highlighting that traders are demanding more evidence to justify the exorbitant investments across the entire supply chain. Fidelity International portfolio manager Ian Samson stated, "The current increased volatility stems largely from fundamental uncertainty."
US pre-market news at a glance: Samsung's earnings report triggered a collective weakness in semiconductor stocks in pre-market trading; SpaceX officially debuts on the Nasdaq 100 today.
According to BlockBeats, the following are key market news items before the US stock market opened on July 7th: 1. Samsung released its Q2 earnings forecast, showing an operating profit increase of over 1800% year-on-year, with single-quarter profits exceeding the total of the previous three years. Simultaneously, the company's revenue also increased by 129% year-on-year, reaching 171 trillion won. Affected by the semiconductor sell-off triggered by the "sell-off" of Samsung's earnings, chip-related technology stocks generally weakened in pre-market trading. The three major US stock futures indices showed mixed results in pre-market trading: Dow Jones futures rose 0.41%, Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.9%, and S&P 500 futures fell 0.09%. 2. SpaceX officially debuted on the Nasdaq 100 before the US stock market opened today, with Wall Street institutions collectively bullish. Most institutions believe that SpaceX is no longer just a traditional aerospace company, but a platform company with the potential for rocket launches, Starlink satellite internet, AI infrastructure, and future space computing. 3. DeepSeek is secretly developing its own inference chip. If successful, this would reduce reliance on external suppliers and give it more cost-effective hardware control. However, the project is still in its early stages and faces manufacturing and memory acquisition restrictions due to US export controls. 4. UBS recommends investors buy SK Hynix's upcoming American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and sell its South Korean shares, as these new shares are expected to trade at higher prices. 5. JPMorgan strategists say the recent weakness in semiconductor stocks should be seen as a buying opportunity, as the chip upcycle is not yet over, and truly meaningful new supply may not appear until 2028. 6. US ADP employment change for the week ending June 20 was 21,000, compared to 30,750 in the previous week. 7. BlackRock will launch an ETF tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, aiming to meet investors' growing demand for participation in the AI-driven stock market rally and challenge Invesco's dominant position. 8. Amazon is returning to the US bond market to raise funds for its artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company will issue eight benchmark bonds with maturities ranging from 3 to 40 years, raising at least $25 billion in the dollar bond offering. 9. Global brokerages have begun coverage research on Elon Musk's SpaceX (SPCX.O), and a preliminary consensus has formed on Wall Street: buy the stock. At least six brokerages, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and UBS, have given it a buy rating, optimistic about its long-term growth prospects, although doubts remain about profitability and valuation.
Japanese and South Korean stock markets closed lower, with South Korean stocks triggering a second circuit breaker during trading.
PANews reported on July 7th that, according to Jinshi, the Nikkei 225 index closed down 1480.73 points, or 2.12%, at 68256.96 on Tuesday, July 7th. The South Korean KOSPI index closed down 395.41 points, or 4.91%, at 7655.92 on Tuesday, July 7th, having fallen more than 8% intraday, triggering a second circuit breaker. Among individual stocks, SK Hynix closed down 6%, and Samsung Electronics fell nearly 7%.
South Korean semiconductor stocks plummeted, triggering five large-scale liquidations of SKHX shares, including the liquidation of a whale long position worth approximately $2 million.
According to BlockBeats, on July 7th, Hyperinsight monitoring showed that during the sharp drop in South Korean semiconductor stocks today, SK Hynix (SKHX) long positions on Hyperliquid were subject to concentrated liquidation, with addresses starting with 0x4b2 becoming one of the largest liquidation targets in this round. The whale had placed a long position in SKHX around $1,620 on the evening of July 5, totaling 2,000 contracts, amounting to approximately $3.24 million. Between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM today, a total of 5 SKHX long positions were liquidated, ranging from $1454.1 to $1382.7, totaling 1344.64 contracts, with a notional amount of approximately $1.916 million, resulting in a loss of $271,000. As of press time, the address has added to its position again, holding 1152,758 long SKHX contracts, with a notional size of approximately $1.656 million and a next liquidation threshold of $1388.56. - HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to the Telegram community and set it as an administrator (message sending permission required) to automatically sync on-chain information.