"US Stock Preference Declines... Increase in Real Asset Investment Proportion"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Due to concerns over the Russia-Ukraine war risk and the March base interest rate hike, advice has been given to increase the proportion of real asset investments instead of investing in U.S. stocks.

On the 26th, Hee-chan Park, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, stated, "I recommend taking the opportunity to slightly reduce U.S. stocks, mainly technology stocks, during the expected stock price rebound phase in March."

Researcher Park analyzed, "The war risk and the resulting surge in international oil prices have intensified the stock market correction. Once the surge in international oil prices subsides, a stock market rebound is expected, and if the base interest rate is raised by 25bp at the March FOMC, the relief rally could continue."

However, he explained, "Just like in January and February, the market's sensitivity to corporate earnings will be very high in April and May as well. Considering the slowdown in consumption and margin compression pressures, earnings forecasts centered on technology stocks are somewhat optimistic, so preparation is necessary."

He recommended that investors diversify their investment targets more actively under the current circumstances.

Researcher Park evaluated, "Investment in REITs, which had poor stock price performance at the beginning of the year, and gold (precious metals), which has a clear long-term rotation relationship with stocks, is positive. Since the risk of financial instability in emerging markets appears low in the short term, increasing investment in high-yield emerging market bonds can strengthen the income revenue base."

For stock investment, he recommended the consumer staples and financial sectors, which are expected to defend margins. He stated, "Cyclical industries, which are likely to face significant margin pressure due to demand slowdown, are generally not preferred. Although the earnings outlook for the Korean semiconductor sector has improved significantly, a cautious approach and verification are needed."

He added, "From the perspective of regional diversification, it is better to replace some ETFs concentrated in the U.S. with global investment ETFs (the background for replacing and including SOCL and CRBN)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.