Samsung's soaring profits couldn't mask underlying concerns, and its stock price plummeted, dragging down the KOSPI index by 6%.
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Hong Kong Stocks Midday Review: Hang Seng Index down 0.42%, Samsung concerns drag down memory semiconductors.
Mars Finance reported on July 7th that Hong Kong's three major stock indices rose in the morning but then continued to decline. By midday, the Hang Seng Index and the H-share Index were both down 0.42%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.28%. The performance of heavyweight tech stocks, which had been rebounding , long. Kuaishou plummeted over 9%, JD.com fell over 1%, Meituan rose over 4%, and Tencent rose nearly 3%. Samsung's surged profits could not mask underlying concerns, leading to a sharp decline in memory semiconductor stocks. Southern Securities' double- long positions in Hynix and Samsung Electronics both plummeted over 19%, Montage Technology fell over 10%, and GigaDevice fell over 8%. PCB concept stocks, gold stocks, and photovoltaic stocks all fell; mobile game stocks and AI application concept stocks bucked the trend and were active. (TechStock Treasure Broadcast)
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.
Australian superannuation fund UniSuper plans to buy tech stocks on dips, ignoring concerns about an AI bubble.
According to Mars Finance, on July 8th, UniSuper, one of Australia's largest pension funds, is seeking to buy into US tech stocks during a pullback, ignoring concerns about high valuations and betting that artificial intelligence will drive earnings growth in the coming years. John Pearce, the fund's chief investment officer, stated that the fund is structurally overweight in US tech stocks because they are at the "sweet spot" of the AI spending cycle, and would increase its holdings even if the sector pulls back by 10%. This bullish stance highlights the growing divergence among investors regarding the long-term prospects of US mega-cap tech stocks—which are currently retreating from their record highs reached last month. Pearce stated, "Everyone is talking about a bubble, but valuations don't reflect that. We know they're investing heavily in capital expenditures, but they are fundamentally sound companies with strong growth prospects, so we're very happy to continue long." UniSuper, with assets under management of A$166 billion (approximately US$115 billion), has maintained an overweight position in US tech stocks for several months. International equities account for about 35% of its default investment strategy, with Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple being its largest holdings.
Bitcoin rally sends crypto stocks soaring as miners, treasury companies jump
Bitcoin’s rally above $79,000 lifted miners and treasury companies, with Canaan, Strive and Metaplanet posting double-digit gains as crypto stocks surged.
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)
Counterpoint: Despite recent stock price corrections, the fundamentals of memory chips remain solid.
According to Mars Finance, on July 7th, MS Hwang, Director of Counterpoint Research, stated that the recent stock price pullback of memory chip manufacturers does not signify a fundamental shift in the memory chip market. Samsung Electronics fell 6.9% on Tuesday, and SK Hynix fell 6.1%, despite Samsung expecting another record-breaking quarter driven by strong demand. Some investors may believe that much of Samsung's upside potential, driven by expectations of improved profitability, has already been priced in. He said, "Recent strikes and political discussions surrounding profit sharing may also raise concerns about future shareholder returns." However, he pointed out that the fundamentals of memory chip manufacturers remain solid. According to Counterpoint's July memory chip price tracking report, DRAM prices are expected to rise 10%-20% in the third quarter, higher than its initial forecast of 5%-10%, as customers continue to place orders ahead of schedule.