The KOSDAQ index recovered the 900th mark for the first time in three months. The rise was driven by semiconductor materials, components and equipment (soobang) stocks, coupled with a rebound in secondary battery and biotech shares. Analysts suggest that the rebound has further room to run.
On the 6th, the KOSDAQ index closed at 919.92, up 2.98% from the previous trading day. This marked the first time the closing price exceeded 900 since July 1.
Among top market capitalization stocks on the day, secondary battery stocks Ecopro and Ecopro BM surged by 7.3% and 11.2%, respectively. Analysts attribute this to positive investor sentiment following Tesla’s third-quarter vehicle sales exceeding market expectations, as well as news that Samsung SDI and Ecopro BM signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in developing all-solid-state battery materials.
Semiconductor materials, components and equipment stocks, which have shown a sharp recent uptrend, also remained strong on the day. Jusung Engineering surged 17.3%, while Wonik IPS and Iotech rose by more than 2% each. The expectation of benefits from expanded AI (artificial intelligence) investment appears to be spreading to small- and mid-cap stocks such as materials, components and equipment suppliers.
Analysts note that semiconductor materials, components and equipment have emerged as an alternative due to the sluggish recovery in share prices of major large-scale semiconductor companies. Kim Jun-young, a researcher at iM Securities, analyzed, "Supply and demand flows seeking beneficiary stocks in the semiconductor capital expenditure cycle have concentrated on materials, components and equipment."
In addition, large-cap biotech stocks also showed strength amid expectations for new drug development. HLB surged 17% on expectations for a resubmission to the U.S. for approval of its liver cancer drug candidate "rivoceranib." Samchundang Pharm also rose 16.7%, as expectations for technology transfer of its new drug pipeline, including oral GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), gained prominence.
The KOSDAQ index has continued to show relative strength compared to the KOSPI index recently. The KOSDAQ index rose 11.9% over the past month, while the KOSPI index managed only a 0.4% gain during the same period. This was influenced by major materials, components and equipment stocks rising in the 20-40% range. During this period, Jusung Engineering surged 48.8%, while Wonik IPS and Iotech rose by 20.1% and 22.8%, respectively.
Given the bright outlook for major KOSDAQ large-cap stocks, the rebound is expected to continue.
Kim Rok-ho, a researcher at Hana Securities, stated, "Micron expects its capital expenditure (CAPEX) in the first half of next year to be at the level of this year's investment amount, and domestic memory manufacturers are also set to fully ramp up investments in new factories," adding, "There are many investment opportunities for materials, components and equipment companies, including front-end and back-end process firms."
Advice is also emerging to make selective investments centered on earnings momentum rather than the KOSDAQ index as a whole.
Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Yuanta Securities, said, "It is not yet a stage to view the entire KOSDAQ index positively," adding, "While it is encouraging that funds are moving into semiconductor materials, components and equipment, there is insufficient basis to expect this to spread to high-valuation growth stocks such as biotech or secondary batteries, whose earnings estimates have not risen."
On the day, the KOSPI index closed at 6941.39, down 62.35 points (0.89%) from the previous trading day. The intraday range was 147.29 points. Based on cumulative data from Korea Exchange and NextTrade, other corporations made net purchases of 987.5 billion won, retail investors bought a net 725.6 billion won, and institutional investors purchased a net 59.4 billion won, while foreign investors made net sales of 1.7689 trillion won. Samsung Electronics fell 1.45% to 272,000 won, and SK Hynix dropped 3.69% to 1,773,000 won. The contribution of these two stocks to the index decline is estimated at approximately 82 points.
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