Analysis: South Korean stocks have plummeted more than 20% from their peak and are poised to enter a technical bear market.
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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 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.
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.
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%.
"Whale Tracking": Have South Korean stocks bottomed out? SK Hynix's largest long position adds $2 million against the trend.
According to BlockBeats, on July 7th, Hyperinsight monitoring showed that the whale starting with 0x0ad, discovered yesterday, failed to cut its losses during today's continued sharp decline in South Korean semiconductor stocks. Instead, it continued to increase its holdings after SK Hynix (SKHX) fell to around $1400. As of press time, this address had opened 97 long positions, accumulating 1428,571 units, approximately $2 million. After adding to its position, its SKHX long position increased to 6,523.79 units, equivalent to approximately $9.024 million, with an average price of $1,559.32. The current price is $1,383.30, resulting in a floating loss of approximately $1.148 million. Currently, this address holds approximately $7.53 million in long positions in MU, with a floating loss of approximately $978,000. Two semiconductor long positions total approximately $16.554 million, with a floating loss of approximately $2.126 million. Above this address are 5,095 SKHX sell orders for profit-taking, priced between $1,604 and $1,615, with a notional amount of approximately $8.184 million. Previous report: "Whale Discovery" - SK Hynix's largest long position has invested $2.7 million, and is already showing a paper loss of $370,000. - 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.
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.
According to Mars Finance, on July 6th, Goldman Sachs released a new research report stating that the upward trend in the South Korean stock market in the second half of the year is expected to spread from AI storage leaders such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to more sectors including energy, raw materials, and industrial manufacturing. Overseas funds are gradually positioning themselves in the upstream and downstream of the AI industry chain and other independent investment opportunities. Regarding market concerns about a bubble in the South Korean stock market, Goldman Sachs believes that the current increase in margin balances is mainly due to the growth of leveraged ETF net asset value, rather than new borrowing by investors. South Korean residents' assets are still mainly in real estate, cash, and overseas stocks, and the domestic stock market still has room for incremental capital inflows. Goldman Sachs predicts that South Korean companies' overall net profit will increase by approximately 320% year-on-year in 2026 and will maintain a growth rate of approximately 35% in 2027. It maintains its 12-month target of 12,000 points for the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), representing an upside of over 20% from current levels, but expects increased market volatility in the future.