The KOSPI is expected to take a breather on August 6. Following a weak performance in U.S. semiconductor stocks and a disappointing earnings outlook from SanDisk, both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are showing declines in pre-market trading.
As of 8:29 a.m. on this day, SK Hynix is trading at 1,598,000 won, down 70,000 won (4.20%) from the previous trading day. Samsung Electronics is also down 7,000 won (2.85%), trading at 239,000 won.
In the U.S. stock market, semiconductor stocks were weak overnight. On August 5, Micron ended the day down 0.01% on the New York Stock Exchange, while SK Hynix's American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) fell by 2.2%. SanDisk and Western Digital also saw declines of 5.4% each ahead of their earnings announcements.
Tech stocks also experienced losses. Alphabet, Google's parent company, dropped 4.06% following the news of the departure of key scientist Jeff Dean, while AMD fell 7.04% due to disappointing earnings forecasts. SanDisk, which reported earnings after the market closed, saw its stock drop more than 5% in after-hours trading.
The New York market is also taking a breather. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.49%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices fell by 0.17% and 0.83%, respectively. The mixed performance reflects profit-taking after four consecutive days of gains, driven by optimism over U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, noted, "The earnings report from SanDisk, released after the market closed, slightly missed market expectations, leading to a decline of over 5% in after-hours trading. It is important to be cautious of potential profit-taking in domestic semiconductor stocks today."
As a result, the domestic market is also expected to show a breather. The MSCI Korea ETF and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell by 1.17% and 1.40%, respectively, while KOSPI 200 night futures dropped by 1.63%, indicating a slight dampening of investor sentiment.
Analysts believe that the extent of the correction will be limited. One researcher stated, "Recent domestic markets have shown noticeably reduced intraday volatility compared to July. During any rebound, rather than reducing positions, it would be effective to adopt a strategy of partial buying in sectors with strong profit momentum, such as semiconductors, MLCCs, securities, retail, and defense, in the event of further corrections."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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