'Trump Policy Tailwind' Foreigners Betting on K-Nuclear Power

Last month, following a large-scale blackout in Europe, the U.S. is promoting a policy to revitalize the nuclear power industry, leading to a surge in domestic nuclear-related stocks. In particular, foreign investors are driving the upward trend by purchasing a large number of nuclear-related stocks.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 27th, among the top 10 foreign net purchases from the 2nd to today, three are nuclear power-related companies.

During this period, foreigners net purchased Doosan Enerbility shares worth 410.4 billion KRW, ranking second, and also focused funds on Hyosung Heavy Industries (360 billion KRW, 3rd) and HD Hyundai Electric (243.6 billion KRW, 5th).

These stocks are companies included in the major value chain of the nuclear power business. Doosan Enerbility is a leading domestic reactor and main equipment manufacturer, securing overseas large-scale nuclear power plant orders and SMR (Small Modular Reactor) core equipment supply chains, including in the Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. Hyosung Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Electric provide ultra-high voltage transformers, producing key equipment for power systems.

In addition to foreign capital inflows, various external favorable factors are overlapping, showing a clear stock price rise in nuclear-related stocks throughout May. During the same period, Doosan Enerbility rose by 52.84%, while Hyosung Heavy Industries and HD Electric increased by 20.12% and 21.49%, respectively.

The securities industry predicts that domestic nuclear-related companies will benefit from the U.S. market in the mid to long term. President Trump's executive order includes expanding the nuclear power capacity in the U.S. to 400GW by 2050 and promoting the construction of 10 large nuclear power plants by 2030. With the promotion of the 'ADVANCE Act' to ease restrictions on foreign companies' participation in the U.S. nuclear market, there is growing expectation that domestic companies will secure substantial order opportunities in the U.S. market based on their technology and supply history.

Minho Heo, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "President Trump's 2050 target of 300GW expansion is an increase of 100GW compared to the goal during the Biden administration, and large-scale construction using existing nuclear sites and closed nuclear plants is expected," adding, "The possibility of U.S. utilities sending love calls to Korean large nuclear power plants has increased."

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