[Edaily Reporter Park Sun-Yeop ] As the domestic stock market continues to experience extreme volatility, analysts predict that SamsungElectronics’ preliminary earnings this week and SK hynix’s listing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq will be key factors determining investor sentiment. While the entire index continues to be shaken by sharp fluctuations in major semiconductor stocks, observers note that the extreme concentration of trading seen during the recent correction has eased somewhat.
In a report released on the 6th, Cho Jun-ki, an analyst at SKSecurities, described this week’s domestic stock market as a “time of testing.” “The domestic stock market continues to experience a roller-coaster ride,” Cho said, adding, “The VKOSPI, at 89.29 points as of Friday’s closing price, reflects this extreme volatility.” This indicates that, based on a rough calculation, the KOSPI’s daily fluctuation range within one standard deviation reaches 5.6%.

In particular, volatility in the domestic stock market is clearly diverging from that of the U.S. market. While the U.S. VIX index has remained around 15.8 points, the VKOSPI has lingered above the 80-point level seen last March when geopolitical risks related to Iran were escalating. Last Friday, even though U.S. markets were closed, the KOSPI fluctuated between 7,378 and 8,136 points during the session before closing at 8,088.34 points. Analysts note that prices continued to move significantly based on market sentiment rather than fundamentals.
However, signs of change are emerging within the market. Although SamsungElectronics(005930)and SK hynix(000660)surged sharply again on Friday, the concentration of trading that had been focused on a small number of stocks during the recent correction appears to have largely dissipated. According to SKSecurities, even as the KOSPI fell nearly 4% last week, 19 out of 26 sectors, as measured by the WI26 index, posted gains. The 20-day ADR for the KOSPI and KOSDAQ—which had fallen to around 45% in early June—has recovered to 81.5% and 76.9%, respectively.
Analyst Cho noted, “There is still a long way to go for neglected stocks,” but added, “While we’ll need to keep an eye on the many semiconductor-related events this week, if the current environment where the previous market leaders are taking a breather continues, it could present an opportunity for neglected stocks.” In fact, by sector last week, banking posted the highest return, rising 13.8%, while securities (12.8%), media and education (11.1%), and cosmetics, apparel, and toys (11.0%) also showed strength. In contrast, the semiconductor sector fell 9.0%, posting the weakest performance.
The first key event this week is SamsungElectronics’ preliminary second-quarter earnings report, scheduled for the 7th. Recently, news related to artificial intelligence (AI) has led to widely divergent conclusions depending on how the same issue is interpreted. It is explained that Apple’s product price hikes, rumors of lobbying against Chinese memory imports, rumors of a delay in OpenAI’s initial public offering (IPO), and news of Meta selling its surplus AI computing resources externally are all creating cracks in the market’s long-held assumption of “supply shortages.”
Researcher Cho emphasized, “The tone and guidance provided during this earnings season’s earnings calls will need to once again allay these mounting concerns.” If SamsungElectronics’ earnings serve as the first test of the recently accumulated concerns, the subsequent earnings reports and investment plans from global Big Tech companies are expected to be an even greater test of the sustainability of the AI investment cycle.
SK hynix’s ADR listing is also drawing market attention. SK hynix is scheduled to list its ADRs on the Nasdaq on the 10th. The ticker symbol is “SKHY.” Analyst Cho noted that attention is focused on whether the ADR listing could serve as a catalyst for a valuation re-rating, given that SK hynix will be directly comparable to Micron on the same exchange and in the same currency.
He also noted that, similar to Taiwan’s TSMC, SK hynix’s ADRs could trade at a premium to the underlying shares; therefore, the price disparity between the underlying shares and the ADRs is expected to be an important metric to track in the short term. Ultimately, the domestic stock market this week is expected to be tested on the sustainability of the semiconductor-led rally as it navigates a series of events: SamsungElectronics’ earnings report, the minutes of the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, and the listing of SK hynix’s ADRs.