"Should I sell Samsung Electronics and SK hynix now?" Investors face tougher decisions in the sharp market downturn

[Financial News] The KOSPI Composite Index fell more than 3% during the session, sliding to the 6,600 level. Foreign investors and institutions are selling in tandem, while Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are also down more than 3%. With the semiconductor stocks that led the recent market rally now wavering, investors are focused on whether the market can rise further.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), as of 9:50 a.m. on the 2nd, the KOSPI Composite Index was trading in the 6,600 range, down more than 2% from the previous trading day. The index opened at 6,625.47, down 3.08%, and remained weak during the session.
The KOSDAQ (Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) was also falling. It opened at 802.80 and dropped as low as 796.34 during the session, briefly slipping below the 800 level.
Top semiconductor stocks by market capitalization were also uniformly weak. At the same time, Samsung Electronics was trading at 253,000 won, down 3.07% from the previous trading day, while SK hynix was trading at 1.641 million won, also down 3.07%.
Foreign investors and institutions were selling aggressively. During the session, foreign investors and institutions recorded net sales in the 700 billion-won range each in the stock market. Retail investors, by contrast, made net purchases of more than 1 trillion won, absorbing the shares sold by foreign investors and institutions.
Foreign investors have also continued to be net sellers recently. After recording net sales of 3.8763 trillion won on the 24th of last month and 4.0001 trillion won on the 25th, they remained net sellers for four consecutive trading days from the 28th of last month through the 2nd. Institutions likewise recorded net sales for four consecutive trading days over the same period.
Analysts say the earnings momentum of semiconductor stocks remains intact despite their recent correction. According to Shinhan Investment & Securities, the one-month change in the KOSPI's 12-month forward earnings per share (EPS) was 5.2%, remaining positive. However, the pace of gains in semiconductor stock prices and earnings has slowed from before.
Semiconductors also continue to make a substantial contribution to earnings. IT had the largest contribution to the increase in 12-month forward net income over both the one-month and three-month periods. Recently, energy and industrials have increased their contributions, while financials have also turned positive, broadening the range of sectors showing earnings improvement.
Lee Jeong-bin, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "The recent market is not in a phase where earnings improvement is disappearing. Rather, it is going through a process in which leading sectors are changing as the pace of earnings momentum slows. The benefits of a strategy that selects sectors and stocks with sustained earnings improvement are growing, rather than focusing on the overall direction of the market."


[email protected] Choi Doo-sun Reporter