As Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are both strong in the pre-market on the 18th, attention is bein..

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사진 확대 On the 14th, the closing price of the KOSPI is displayed on the electronic display in the dealing room of Hana Bank’s headquarters in Jung-gu. [Yonhap News]

As Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are both strong in the pre-market on the 18th, attention is being paid to whether the KOSPI will surpass 7,000p (KOSPI 7,000) again.

Although the New York stock market fell all at once last night due to rising conflicts between the U.S. and Iran and rising long-term government bond rates, U.S. memory semiconductor stocks are strong on expectations of increased artificial intelligence (AI) investment, leading to a warm wind in the domestic stock market.

As of 8:01 a.m., Samsung Electronics was trading at 281,000 won, up 2.37% from the previous trading day, and SK Hynix was trading at 1.71 million won, up 3.95%.

With the KOSPI rising for five consecutive trading days until the 14th, just before the Liberation Day holiday, whether large semiconductor stocks can lead the index to rise again is considered a key variable in the stock market.

According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI rose 2.42% to 6977.94 on the 14th. At one point during the day, it rose to 7010.86 and touched the 7,000-point level.

In terms of supply and demand, foreigners net purchased KRW 3.486 trillion, leading the rise. On the other hand, institutions and individuals sold a net 1.298 trillion won and 1.982 trillion won, respectively.

Semiconductors also led the KOSPI to rise. As the U.S. producer price index (PPI) showed a moderate slowdown along with the consumer price index (CPI) in July, concerns over additional interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve System (Fed) eased and U.S. memory semiconductor stocks strengthened.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 2.43% and 3.26%, respectively, on the 14th, rising for four consecutive trading days. The KOSDAQ index also rose 0.38 percent to close at 864.65, marking the fifth consecutive trading day of gains.

The situation was different in New York last night. The three major indexes fell all at once as international oil prices jumped and government bond rates soared due to rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.51%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also fell 0.52% and 0.32%, respectively.

Concerns over disruptions in crude oil supply have increased as the 60-day negotiation deadline between the U.S. and Iran has expired without extension. As a result, Brent and WTI futures rose more than 2% each.

The interest rate on U.S. government bonds also jumped due to inflation concerns caused by rising oil prices. The 30-year government bond rate soared to 5.31 percent, the highest level in 19 years since 2007, and the 10-year government bond rate also hit 4.73 percent.

Nevertheless, semiconductor stocks were strong. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index rose 1.64 percent, with SanDisk up 8.88 percent, Micron up 4.13 percent and SK Hynix’s U.S. Deposit Certificate (ADR) up 3.04 percent. Western Digital and Seagate also rose 5.35% and 2.19%, respectively. Despite the overall weakness of the U.S. stock market, buying of AI-related stocks and memory stocks was concentrated.

사진 확대 Traders are working on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). [EPA Yonhap News]

Analysts say that the aggressive sales outlook of AI start-up Antropic has revived investor sentiment in semiconductors. Expectations are growing again that rapid sales growth of AI services can lead to increased demand for data center investment and memory. The U.S. government’s move to check Chinese-made memory also helped memory companies’ stock prices rise.

Seo Sang-young, managing director of Mirae Asset Securities, explained, “The concentration of supply and demand was concentrated on semiconductor storage as Antropic’s aggressive sales forecast and the U.S. government’s check on Chinese memory flowed in.”

As a result, the key is whether the KOSPI will continue its upward trend, focusing on semiconductor stocks, overcoming macro burdens such as oil prices and interest rates. In particular, as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been on the rise in the 2% to 4% range from the pre-market, expectations are also growing for a return to the 7,000 level.

However, as the index recently rebounded quickly in a short period of time, the pressure for profit-taking is also a variable.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, “The strength of semiconductor stocks such as U.S. Micron and SanDisk during the holiday period is a factor that could lead to the strength of the domestic stock market earlier this week,” but added, “As macro uncertainties such as interest rates and oil prices coexist, there is a possibility that the pressure to adjust the speed will increase as the volume of profit-taking due to a short-term surge comes out after the beginning of the week.”