Chip Selloff Hits Kospi, BOK Begins Rate Hikes | The Asia Trade 7/16/2026

Watch on YouTube ↗ | July 16, 2026 at 05:36 | 1:37:22 | Bloomberg Markets

Speakers

Neil — Analyst

Suresh Tantia — Head of CIO for Asia Equity Strategy, UBS Global Wealth Management

Mark Cranfield — Cross Asset Strategist, Bloomberg

Fatih Birol — Executive Director, International Energy Agency

News Reporter — Anchor/Journalist

Summary

The video covers the latest developments in Asian markets, focusing on the Bank of Korea's decision to raise interest rates to 2.75% amid persistent inflation and an AI-driven chip boom. Discussions also highlight the escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and their potential impact on global oil supplies and inflation. Additionally, experts analyze the recent tech selloff, the volatility in Korean equities driven by leveraged ETFs, and the earnings outlook for major semiconductor players like TSMC and ASML.

Bank of Korea raises policy rate to 2.75% amid inflation concerns.
Geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz threaten global oil supplies.
US inflation data comes in softer than expected, impacting Fed rate hike bets.
South Korean regulators consider measures to curb volatility from leveraged single-stock ETFs.
TSMC and ASML earnings are closely watched for signs of sustained AI capital expenditure.
Apple receives approval to roll out its generative AI in China in partnership with Alibaba.

Ideas

Neil Analyst 38:02

Strong investment banking backlogs signal continued growth.

Large US financial institutions like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs posted blowout numbers in equities trading and investment banking, and their growing investment banking backlogs suggest continued strength and better days ahead in the second half of the year.

Neil Analyst 39:13

BlackRock is successfully growing higher-fee asset categories.

BlackRock's growth continues to be highly impressive even at its massive $15 trillion scale, with organic base fee growth running above its 5% target, indicating that new inflows are successfully shifting into higher-fee categories rather than just low-fee ETFs.

Suresh Tantia Head of CIO for Asia Equity Strategy, UBS Global Wealth Management 68:45

Strong AI demand supports Korean equity fundamentals.

Despite recent volatility and regulatory concerns over leveraged ETFs, the Korean equity market remains attractive because underlying fundamentals are strong, AI monetization is playing out, and companies are unable to fulfill the massive demand.

Suresh Tantia Head of CIO for Asia Equity Strategy, UBS Global Wealth Management 69:35

Prolonged capacity constraints benefit semiconductor equipment makers.

Semiconductor equipment makers in Europe and Taiwan are highly preferred because industry capacity constraints are expected to last for a couple of years, leading these companies to consistently raise guidance as they struggle to fulfill demand.

Suresh Tantia Head of CIO for Asia Equity Strategy, UBS Global Wealth Management 69:59

Foundries offer high-quality, volume-driven earnings growth.

Foundries remain an attractive investment because their earnings are projected to grow by more than 30% to 40% over the next couple of years, driven by high-quality volume growth rather than just price momentum.

Suresh Tantia Head of CIO for Asia Equity Strategy, UBS Global Wealth Management 70:12

Korean memory players will benefit from AI.

Korean memory players are positioned to perform well over the next six months as they benefit from the ongoing supply-demand imbalance in the AI space.

Suresh Tantia Head of CIO for Asia Equity Strategy, UBS Global Wealth Management 71:54

Domestic spending boosts Chinese AI hardware stocks.

Chinese AI hardware stocks offer a fantastic long-term opportunity because China is investing $300 million over the next five years to build its own domestic AI ecosystem, shielding these local hardware players from foreign competition.

Suresh Tantia Head of CIO for Asia Equity Strategy, UBS Global Wealth Management 72:15

Cheap Chinese internet stocks are monetizing AI.

Chinese internet players are poised for a short-term recovery because they are trading at cheap valuations of 13 to 14 times earnings and are successfully monetizing AI investments within their existing operations.

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This Bloomberg Markets video, published July 16, 2026, features Neil, Suresh Tantia discussing MS, GS, BLK, EWY, SMH, European semiconductor equipment, Foundries, Korean memory players, Chinese AI hardware, KWEB. 8 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Neil, Suresh Tantia · Tickers: MS, GS, BLK, EWY, SMH, European semiconductor equipment, Foundries, Korean memory players, Chinese AI hardware, KWEB