[R&E] KOSPI Surges 3.56% on Foreign and Institutional Buying, Driven by Samsung Electronics' Strength and 180.6% Jump in July Semiconductor Exports

[R&E: Research & Epoch] This is News Epoch's signature report, offering a perspective on a new era of investment through the integrated analysis of global financial data and domestic brokerage research.

Global Market Brief

The New York stock market closed higher across the board the previous day, driven by strong buying inflows centered on the semiconductor sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 52,224.64 points, up +0.74% from the previous trading day. The S&P 500 index rose +0.89% to 7,509.20 points, and the NASDAQ index gained +1.29% to reach 25,837.21 points.

The upward trend was led by the semiconductor sector. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged +5.21% from the previous trading day to close at 12,356.16 points, improving overall investor sentiment towards technology stocks. Memory semiconductor companies such as Micron (+12.17%) and Western Digital (+12.51%) recorded particularly sharp surges. South Korea's robust semiconductor exports, expectations for expanded AI investments, and short-covering inflows from hedge funds led to rebound buying. Furthermore, Nvidia's announcement that its next-generation AI server platform, 'Vera Rubin', has entered the mass production stage and will be supplied to clients also supported investor sentiment. Separately, Super Micro Computer (+7.0%) surged in after-hours trading following its earnings release, having raised its gross margin guidance from the previous 8.4~8.7% to 15~17%.

Persistent geopolitical risks and improved oil demand outlook pushed oil prices higher. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose +2.0% from the previous trading day to $84.9 per barrel. In the foreign exchange market, the US Dollar Index maintained its strength, closing at 101.189 points, up +0.24% from the previous day. The 10-year US Treasury yield closed at 4.6281%, up 3.6 bps from the previous trading day, but solid earnings prospects for tech stocks outweighed the burden of higher interest rates.

Domestic Market Overview

The domestic stock market the previous day recovered most of its losses from the preceding trading session in just one day, driven by the easing of concerns over the global semiconductor industry and record-high export indicators. The KOSPI closed at 6,747.95 points, up +3.56% from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ also succeeded in rebounding, recording 753.34 points, up +0.49% from the previous trading day. Foreigners and institutions turned into simultaneous net buyers in the KOSPI market, leading the index higher, and a buy sidecar was activated on the KOSPI.

Underpinning the strong rebound is overwhelming export growth. According to statistics released by the Korea Customs Service for July 1-20, domestic export volume reached a record high of $54.9 billion, an increase of +52.3% compared to the same period last year. Among this, semiconductor export volume surged +180.6% year-on-year to $22.1 billion, accounting for 40.3% of total exports.

In the foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1,481.8 won, up 6.2 won from the previous day. However, the 1-month offshore Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) was quoted at around 1,481.4 won, pointing to a slightly lower opening. Ahead of today's opening, the domestic stock market is expected to show a buying advantage in early trading, reflecting the surge in the US semiconductor index the previous day and sound export fundamentals.

Key Industry Issues and Insights

Semiconductors and Materials/Parts/Equipment: Solidifying Fundamentals with Large-Scale Facility Investments Amid Export Surges

Domestic semiconductor large-cap Samsung Electronics (KOSPI: 005930) surged +6.15% the previous day, and SK Hynix (KOSPI: 000660) also rose +4.08%, regaining market leadership. As the rise in export unit prices and volumes of front-end memory semiconductors is confirmed, expectations for earnings improvement are spreading to the back-end materials, parts, and equipment value chain. Semiconductor package substrate manufacturer Daeduck Electronics (KOSPI: 353200) announced a new production facility investment worth 497 billion won, stepping up to strengthen its portfolio of high value-added product lines. This is separate from the 213 billion won factory construction investment announced in May. Daeduck Electronics' semiconductor packaging substrate (FC-BGA) utilization rate is estimated to have risen to around 80% as of the end of the second quarter, and its Q2 operating profit estimate is expected to reach 66.6 billion won (+3,468.0% YoY), exceeding the market consensus (62.9 billion won) by 5.8%.

The second-quarter operating profit of semiconductor materials supplier Soulbrain (KOSDAQ: 357780) is estimated at 46.2 billion won, an increase of +129% year-on-year. This is in line with consensus, resulting from a continued rise in utilization rates centered on semiconductor etchants. This suggests that regardless of temporary index corrections, the actual utilization rates and unit prices of semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment companies have entered a structural growth phase.

Power Infrastructure and Energy: The Intersection of Equipment Orders Driven by AI Data Centers and Financial Structure Improvement

The surge in power and cable demand to operate AI data centers is being proven by the earnings of related equipment manufacturers. KOSES (KOSDAQ: 089890) won an order for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) electrode cell automation equipment worth 150 billion won (3GW) from Bloom Energy in the US. This 3GW volume consists of Bloom Energy's new expansion of 2GW and 1GW replacing existing global competitors' equipment, securing KOSES an exclusive supply status for the equipment. With this, KOSES's cumulative order amount from Bloom Energy reaches 237.1 billion won (5GW). Supported by this, KOSES's sales in 2026 are forecast to reach 179.4 billion won (+117.8% YoY), with operating profit hitting 39.3 billion won (+125.8% YoY).

Cable manufacturer Gaon Cable (KOSPI: 000500) achieved record-high earnings with a first-half operating profit of 64 billion won, and the power infrastructure value chain showed strength, with the stock price of Daewon Cable (KOSPI: 006340) surging +8.2% together the previous day. Meanwhile, Hanwha Solutions (KOSPI: 009830) released a revised disclosure confirming its rights offering issue price at 22,100 won to raise a total of 1.17 trillion won. It aims to invest 907.7 billion won of the raised funds into facility investments and lower its debt ratio from 191% to the 150% level by the end of 2026. This demonstrates that domestic materials and equipment companies are reaping the rewards of preemptive facility investments amidst a prolonged global power infrastructure supply shortage.

Pharmaceuticals and Biotech: Valuation Polarization Driven by Individual Clinical Results and Mega M&As

The pharmaceutical and biotech sector is experiencing a starkly divided value re-rating depending on the success or failure of individual companies' research and development (R&D) and their capital strength. Kolon TissueGene (KOSDAQ: 950160) plummeted -29.90% the previous day following news that its osteoarthritis treatment TG-C, currently under development, failed to meet the primary endpoint in its Phase 3 clinical trial in the US. On the other hand, Samsung Biologics (KOSPI: 207940), a large-cap company with global capital strength, acquired a Swiss company specializing in peptide contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for approximately 2.7 trillion won, entering the obesity treatment (GLP-1) CDMO market. The acquired company's sales guidance for 2026 is forecast to grow +20~25% year-on-year, but its significantly lower operating margin compared to Samsung Biologics makes the possibility of profitability dilution on a consolidated basis a burdening factor.

SK Biopharmaceuticals (KOSPI: 326030), which has entered the commercialization stage, is projected to achieve an operating profit of 88.5 billion won (+43.0% YoY) in the second quarter of 2026, thanks to the growth in US prescription volume of its epilepsy treatment XCOPRI. This indicates that the axis of pharmaceutical and biotech investment is shifting from new drug developers relying on technical expectations toward commercially successful companies with concrete overseas footholds and revenue pipelines.

Market Signals

• Record High July Semiconductor Exports: Of the cumulative export volume of $54.9 billion (+52.3% YoY) from July 1-20, semiconductor exports recorded $22.1 billion (+180.6% YoY), leading the high growth trend.

  FnGuide Earnings Surprise: Sales of FnGuide (KOSDAQ: 064850) for the second quarter of 2026 are 14.9 billion won (+96.3% YoY), and operating profit is 7.9 billion won (+281.2% YoY), significantly exceeding market expectations driven by the growth of its index and financial information services division.

  KOSES Wins Large-Scale Order from Bloom Energy: KOSES secured a 150 billion won (3GW) order for SOFC electrode cell automation equipment from Bloom Energy, securing a cumulative order amount of 237.1 billion won (5GW) and rising to an exclusive supply status.

  Hanwha Solutions Confirms Rights Offering: Hanwha Solutions confirmed its rights offering issue price at 22,100 won to raise a total of 1.17 trillion won, of which 907.7 billion won will be invested in facilities.

Epoch View: Investment Implications

The temporary fears of a supply-demand collapse that dominated the domestic stock market were contained in just one day by record-breaking export data and a strong rebound led by US semiconductor stocks. This confirmed that the correction was due to psychological contraction rather than fundamental damage. In particular, structural changes such as front-end semiconductor unit price hikes and expanded power infrastructure facility investments are driving up earnings estimates for back-end materials, parts, and equipment as well as electrode automation equipment manufacturers. Conversely, the cases of pharmaceutical companies facing R&D risks and an energy company raising massive capital to improve its financial structure prove that the market is demanding 'substantial earning power' and 'confirmed financial visibility'. However, as seen in Samsung Biologics' acquisition case, top-line expansion does not immediately translate to profitability, making a selective approach valid by focusing on leading sectors where earnings growth is confirmed by actual figures.

This content was generated by News Epoch's proprietary AI algorithm, which tracks and analyzes public data from major domestic brokerage research centers and global financial media in real-time. It is an objective summary based on collected data and is not an investment solicitation or recommendation for any specific stock.