"50,000 Electronics, Now Is the Time" The Persistent Love of Ant Investors for Semiconductors... Solo 'Buying'

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] Individual investors are concentrating their purchases on semiconductor leaders such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. As the semiconductor market downturn caused Samsung Electronics to fall to the '50,000 won level' and SK Hynix to drop to the low 90,000 won range, investors appear to be buying at low prices. The securities industry also advised that the stock price decline should be seen as an opportunity to increase holdings.

On the 11th, Asia Economy examined the top net purchase stocks by investor type in the KOSPI market from August 1 to 10, and found that individuals bought semiconductor-related stocks the most. During this period, individuals purchased Samsung Electronics the most, with a net purchase amount reaching 667.4 billion won. Following were semiconductor stocks such as SK Hynix (2nd), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (3rd), LG Innotek (4th), and Samsung Electronics Preferred Shares (5th).

In contrast, institutional investors sold semiconductor stocks during the same period. Samsung Electronics, which was the top net purchase stock for individuals, ranked as the stock with the highest net selling transaction amount by institutions. Other semiconductor stocks such as SK Hynix (2nd), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (4th), and LG Innotek (11th) also appeared among the top net selling ranks. Foreign investors also sold semiconductor stocks centered on Samsung Electronics (1st), LG Innotek (2nd), Samsung Electronics Preferred Shares (3rd), and Samsung Electro-Mechanics (7th).

The selling of semiconductor stocks mainly by institutions and foreigners is presumed to be due to concerns over semiconductor stocks in the U.S. stock market. On the 8th and 9th, Nvidia and Micron consecutively announced quarterly earnings forecasts below market expectations, showing weakness. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which influences domestic semiconductor investor sentiment, fell by 1.61% and 4.57% on the 8th and 9th, respectively. As a result, domestic semiconductor-related stocks showed consecutive weakness, leading to a surge in individual investors' low-price buying. Samsung Electronics closed lower for three consecutive trading days from the 8th, breaking below the 60,000 won level again, and SK Hynix also dropped to the low 90,000 won range. Other semiconductor-related stocks such as Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek showed similar trends.

The securities industry forecasts that the semiconductor market will not be very bright in the second half of this year. Doh Hyun-woo, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "The semiconductor demand slowdown is more severe than the existing market expectations, inevitably affecting the domestic semiconductor sector," and predicted, "DRAM prices will fall by 13% in the third quarter, and shipments will remain at similar levels."

However, there is also a view that the worsening semiconductor market should be seen as a mid- to long-term investment opportunity. Kim Jang-yeol, a researcher at Sangsangin Securities, advised, "For investors seeking profits from memory semiconductor stocks, it would be effective to gradually accumulate shares through dollar-cost averaging as earnings decline and stock prices fall from now on," adding, "It is judged that using the additional decline caused by deteriorating semiconductor stock investor sentiment as an opportunity for gradual mid- to long-term bottom-fishing through split purchases is effective."

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