#每周来晒 #韩股大跌你会抄底吗 Korean stocks plunge 3.65%: This is not a “pullback,” but the “payback moment for the AI bubble in the first half” — bottom-fishing? First see whether foreign capital returns
Today (10/12), the KOSPI plunged 3.65% to close at 6,384 points, hitting a new low since 8/11; Samsung Electronics fell 4.39%, while SK hynix fell 4.52%
Is this a “short-term pullback”? No — this is the squeezing out of the valuation bubble from the “world’s strongest AI rally” in the first half (the KOSPI once rose over 101%), the middle stage of a “medium-term correction,” not an “unjustified sell-off.”
Bottom-fishing?
My answer: mainly wait and see. The reason is simple: the buyers today were retail investors (net purchases of 1.47 trillion won); those fleeing today were foreign investors (net sales of 2.02 trillion won) — historically, this setup has rarely marked a bottom.
I. Why the drop: Three major pressures hit at once
① Cooling AI narrative (the core factor). The direct trigger was the retreat from AI trades sparked by concerns over OpenAI’s revenue — Korean stocks are on the front line of the global AI trade (Samsung and SK hynix = memory/HBM), so when AI cools, they take the first hit. U.S. chip stocks already fell last week (SoftBank down 5%+, Kioxia also fell), and today it was Korea’s turn to catch up.
② Systematic foreign capital outflows (the most dangerous factor). Foreign ownership of Samsung Electronics has fallen to 46.37% — the lowest since 2009 (17 years) — smart money has been steadily exiting; this is not a one-day event (the KOSPI has fallen 22%+ since July).
③ ASML price hikes (a new negative factor). ASML notified Samsung and SK hynix that prices for lithography-machine components supplied to Korea will uniformly rise 10% (starting in 2027) — higher costs will squeeze profit margins, pouring cold water on the “profit story” for semiconductor stocks.
II. Why this is “not a short-term pullback”: Look at the structure
- Q3 fell 22%: +101% in the first half → among the worst globally in Q3 — this is not a “drop too far, then rebound” pattern, but a “valuation reverting to fundamentals” pattern
- Trading volume plunged + retail investors exited: market interest is dispersing, not building
- The won strengthened + Korean bond yields fell: capital is moving toward “safe-haven assets,” not “risk assets”
III. Bottom-fishing or waiting and watching? — My answer is “wait and see”
Why wait and see?
- Retail investors buying what foreign investors are selling = a textbook “catching a falling knife” setup — retail’s 1.47 trillion won was fed by foreign investors’ 2.02 trillion won in selling
- CPI is due on 10/14: the macro picture is still unsettled, and a high-beta market like Korean stocks will amplify volatility
- The AI narrative has not stabilized: until OpenAI concerns are resolved, any “rebound” in semiconductor stocks is jumping the gun
When can we act?
1. Foreign investors turn to net buyers — this is the most important signal: who is buying determines where the bottom is
2. The AI narrative stabilizes: OpenAI/U.S. chip stocks stop falling, and HBM orders recover (watch SK hynix’s earnings guidance)
3. The KOSPI stabilizes on heavy volume in the 6,200–6,300 range — falling no further + buyers stepping in = a left-side entry zone
This wave in Korean stocks is “AI bubble deflation + foreign capital withdrawal,” not a “golden pit” — retail buying, foreign capital exiting, the narrative cooling, and CPI coming up: all four reasons point to “wait a little longer.” For bottom-fishing in Korean stocks, wait until foreign capital returns; until it does, keeping your hands off is a gain.
Would you bottom-fish or wait and see? Let’s discuss in the comments 👇
