Events that could have a major impact on the share prices of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are lined up this week (the 20th–24th).
Starting with Alphabet's earnings before dawn on the 23rd, earnings reports from U.S. big tech and hyperscalers are set to follow one after another. Following Tesla, Intel will also report earnings on the 24th.
On the 13th–17th, Korea's stock market staged an unprecedented roller-coaster. On the 13th, the KOSPI index fell 8.95% to 6,806.93, then rebounded 6.24% on the 15th to 7,284.41. But on the 16th, it fell 6.37% to close at 6,820.60.
Circuit breakers, buy sidecars, and sell sidecars were triggered in succession on three out of four trading days. What rattled the market were growing claims in global markets of an AI overheating and a semiconductor peak.
This week is expected to serve as a time to confirm the direction of whether the AI investment cycle can continue.
Kang Jin-hyeok, senior researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "Ultimately, the cause of the recent pullback is skepticism over AI capital expenditures (capex) and debate over the nature of memory profits," adding, "Guidance on capital expenditures from hyperscalers led by Alphabet will be the key."
In particular, the market is seeking to reconfirm big tech's financing capacity and the sustainability of AI investment in this earnings season. Attention is expected to focus on semiconductor shortages mentioned in the earnings and on long-term agreements (LTA).
Hwang San-hae, a researcher at LS Securities, said, "In the end, whether capital expenditures are raised alongside cloud growth, AI monetization, and expense efficiency will determine the path forward," adding, "The memory sector is also likely to be linked not to a simple benefit from higher capital expenditures but to validating the justification for AI investment and the return on investment (ROI)."
In the first quarter as well, a record-high rally in technology stocks, including semiconductors, continued after the U.S. big tech earnings season. Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Yuanta Securities Korea, said, "In the first quarter, AI capital expenditures exceeded expectations in big tech earnings and guidance was revised up, leading to a record-high rally in May."
Meanwhile, on the 23rd, Korea is scheduled to release second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP). The GDP will likely provide a read on the contribution of semiconductor export performance and a domestic demand recovery to growth.