Habitual Sell in May? Concerns and Expectations? | Park Byeong-chang, Kyobo Securities Asset Management Strategy Department Director

Summary

Park Byeong-chang of Kyobo Securities discusses why the habitual Sell in May worry may be less important than stock selection in Korea. He expects KOSPI to rebound and grind higher into mid-May, then slow and rotate, while choosing to stay with mega-trend leading stocks rather than laggard rotation. He also reviews AI semiconductor capex, memory shortages, China sector opportunities, governance reform in Korea, and risks from oil, rates, and AI regulation.

• US markets recovered and Korean ETF and semiconductor ETF prices rose over two sessions, setting up a positive KOSPI open.
• May is viewed as less about outright selling and more about stock-specific/rotation trading, with mid-May strength then slowing momentum.
• The speaker prefers Korean mega-trend leaders and positive earnings-revision sectors over rotation into laggards.
• AI semiconductor supply chain remains favored, helped by AI capex, memory shortages, and earnings revisions, but AI regulatory noise is a key risk.
• Governance reform is helping LS and broader Korea governance-discount names.
• China report highlights AI/tech, supply-cut materials, and battery storage/renewables, while Chinese consumption remains weak.
• Risks include oil supply shock, inflation and rate hikes in vulnerable countries, and US-Iran negotiation uncertainty.
• Samsung Electronics target cut and foreign retail access debate are noted as market news.