Over the past week, the local stock market has had a chaotic week, with Samsung Electronics retaking 60,000 won, changes ahead of the resumption of short selling, Hanwha Aerospace's decision to raise its capital on a large scale and Chairman Chung Eui-sun's White House speech. Investors drew attention to the keywords "semiconductor" and "short selling" and stocks of Hanwha Aerospace, Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor.
According to FnGuide, a financial information company, "semiconductor" (316 times) ranked first in the keyword search word ranking from the 19th to the 25th. "Short selling" (257 times) came in second, followed by "China" (216 times) and "AI" (163 times). FOMC, which means the Federal Open Market Committee of the U.S. Federal Reserve, ranked 9th (133 times).
During the same period, Hanwha Aerospace (429 times) ranked No. 1 in the stock search ranking. Samsung Electronics (415 times) came in second by a hair's breadth, followed by Hyundai Motor (284 times). In addition, Hanall Biopharma (223), Alteogen (217 times), and Orion (203 times) drew attention.
Samsung Electronics, the leading semiconductor maker, overcame the pain of the 40,000-electronics crash and succeeded in retaking the 60,000-electronics. On the 20th, Samsung Electronics closed at 60,200 won, marking the first time in 156 days since October 15 last year. During this period, Samsung Electronics recorded 49,900 won (November 14, 2024) for the first time since 2020. However, expectations have been raised that Samsung Electronics' performance could recover by the end of this year thanks to a rise in NAND prices and a recovery in DRAM demand. Global investment bank Morgan Stanley raised its target price of Samsung Electronics to 70,000 won, and a number of local securities firms also offered a target price of more than 70,000 won and a buying opinion.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong made drastic moves by ordering his executives to be determined to "live a dead 卽" and visiting Xiaomi's factory and BYD headquarters in China. As a result, Samsung Electronics' stock price rose 8.4 percent from a month ago to 61,400 won on the 26th.
Another protagonist of the domestic stock market, which has waited longer than 60,000 electronics, is short selling. Short selling, which will be fully allowed from the 31st, will resume about a year and a half after the ban on short selling in November 2023. The last time short selling was allowed in March 2020, more than five years ago.
If short selling resumes, it is widely expected that there will be a significant ripple in the domestic stock market. On the positive side, there is an opinion that the return of foreign investors will sharpen the rise of the local stock market. In fact, foreigners net purchased domestic stocks for five consecutive days from the 17th to the 21st, ahead of the resumption of short selling, and the net purchase amount amounted to 2.773 trillion won. On the other hand, companies that have accumulated balance of loans or whose stock prices have soared recently may be targeted by short selling, requiring caution.
Hanwha Aerospace, which led the domestic stock market to rise this year due to an unstoppable defense rally, fell sharply after the decision to increase its capital by a large-scale paid-in capital increase. On the 20th, Hanwha Aerospace announced its decision to increase its capital by 3.6 trillion won, the largest in the history of Korea's capital market. In the stock market the next day, Hanwha Aerospace fell 13 percent from the previous day to 628,000 won. Investors erupted when Hanwha Aerospace, which improved its cash flow due to its success in the European and Middle Eastern markets, said it would raise capital by diluting shareholder value. Nomura Financial Investment pointed out, "We pushed ahead with the paid-in capital increase without consideration for shareholders, even though Hanwha Aerospace's credit rating was good." Daol Investment & Securities (700,000 won), DS Investment & Securities (750,000 won), and LS Securities (730,000 won) lowered the target price of Hanwha Aerospace.
On the other hand, it was also suggested that this large-scale investment will help Hanwha Aerospace's long-term growth. JPMorgan said, "Hanwha Aerospace made an unexpected capital increase," but evaluated it as a "strategy to seize global opportunities," maintaining its target stock price of 950,000 won and "expanding its weight" investment opinion.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun said at the White House on the 24th (local time) that he would invest 21 billion dollars (about 31 trillion won) in the United States over the next four years. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump responded, saying, "Hyundai Motor does not have to pay tariffs." Since the announcement, Hyundai Motor's stock price has risen for two consecutive trading days, closing at 222,000 won on the 26th.
