Ideas
Foreign long-term funds accumulating Samsung Hynix.
After two days of heavy foreign selling in Samsung Electronics of about 13 million shares on disappointment over shareholder-return measures, foreign investors turned net buyers today with about 2.5 million shares. Foreign futures also flipped from selling to buying, reducing program selling and improving semiconductor market supply. Lee views this as long-term foreign funds, including Singapore and U.S. public-type funds, accumulating Samsung Electronics and SK hynix programmatically, likely through September-October and targeting a Q4 year-end move. Short-term funds still cause large intraday swings, so long-term investors should separate that from the accumulation trend.
Rate, oil drop favors pharma consumer.
Falling U.S. Treasury yields and lower oil prices are supporting rate-sensitive and oil-sensitive Korean sectors. Pharmaceuticals/biotech and consumer discretionary are leading, with foreign buying focused on earnings-driven names in those sectors. Lee expects this to continue if U.S. long yields keep falling and oil does not rebound much into U.S. midterm-season stimulus.
Cosmetics sector has global earnings momentum.
Cosmetics stocks are regaining attention and rising broadly, with most names positive on the day. U.S. cosmetics earnings releases are also rallying sharply, providing a coincident global momentum signal, so Lee continues to see the Korean cosmetics sector as worthy of interest.
Stronger won, earnings bottom lift food.
Food sector stocks, including Nongshim and Samyang Foods, are rebounding strongly from the bottom. Lee attributes this to two factors: the falling exchange rate reducing import and raw material costs, and earnings that have already bottomed. The combination of improving earnings and currency tailwinds is making food names stand out.
Westinghouse deal boosts Korean nuclear orders.
News that Korean investors will co-acquire a Westinghouse stake with U.S. partners triggered a two-day surge in Korean nuclear power stocks. Lee argues this can restore the ability to jointly bid with U.S. partners for overseas nuclear orders in Europe and the Middle East, similar to the UAE experience. Despite weak earnings, this is a strong event-driven moment for nuclear power names.
Nvidia setup hinges on Vera Rubin.
Nvidia already signaled a 15% price increase, which makes it likely that earnings will beat and next-quarter guidance may be decent. The key checkpoint is whether Vera Rubin guidance meets high market expectations. Previous four quarters had decent results but weak stock reactions; if a supply issue like SanDisk occurs, a one-to-two day shock is possible, but then interpretation should flip to strong demand. Therefore it is an event to watch rather than a clean directional trade.
Hyundai's near 9% shareholder yield supports holding.
Hyundai Motor fell after Investor Day because management stated it is not a robot maker and gave no concrete Boston Dynamics listing details, dashing robot-related expectations. However, Hyundai has among the strongest shareholder-return among large Korean companies: a cash dividend over 6% plus buyback/cancellation adds up to roughly 9% effective shareholder yield. Chairman Chung Euisun personally holds a large Boston Dynamics stake, so a listing or ownership-structure catalyst is likely before long. Lee advises long-term investors to hold through the adjustment while near-term foreign flows may stay cautious until the ownership structure is clarified.
KOSPI seasonal recovery from September.
In U.S. midterm election years, August often marks a seasonal low for equities as policy uncertainty peaks, followed by recovery from September and strength into October-November as stimulus and policy clarity improve. Lee expects KOSPI to recover after early September, provided U.S. Treasury yields and oil prices continue to fall, and recommends a more positive approach.
Semiconductor overhangs resolved; hold until December.
The three negative factors that drove the semiconductor correction since July, semiconductor peak-cycle fears, China semiconductor risk, and shareholder-return disappointment, are now mostly resolved. With those overhangs fading, semiconductors can continue as an earnings-driven leadership sector. Lee suggests conservative investors can hold semiconductor exposure until around December, when the sector typically peaks seasonally and long-term contract or Vera Rubin-related news may climax.
This 815 Money Talk (815머니톡) video, published August 26, 2026,
features Lee Ji-hwan
discussing 005930.KS, 000660.KS, Korean pharmaceuticals/biotech sector, XLY, KORU, 004370.KS, Korean Food Sector, 003230.KS, Korean nuclear power sector, NVDA, 005380.KS, KOSPI, Korean semiconductor sector.
9 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers:
Lee Ji-hwan
· Tickers:
005930.KS,
000660.KS,
Korean pharmaceuticals/biotech sector,
XLY,
KORU,
004370.KS,
Korean Food Sector,
003230.KS,
Korean nuclear power sector,
NVDA,
005380.KS,
KOSPI,
Korean semiconductor sector
