Don't Fall for the Foreign Supply and Demand Trap... When Will Semiconductor Stocks Rebound? / How to Find 'Earnings-Driven Stocks' in a Downturn | Lee Jihwan, CEO of Aurora Investment Advisory

Summary

Lee Ji-hwan, CEO of Aurora Investment Advisory, discusses the recent sell-off in Korean stocks driven by foreign futures selling and forced margin calls. He advises holders of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix not to sell unless the previous week's low breaks, citing strong AI memory demand through year-end or Q1 supported by NVIDIA's Rubin architecture. He highlights opportunities in Korean and Japanese semiconductor equipment sectors drawing global inflows, US banks and consumer cyclicals benefiting from rate hikes and potential tariff easing, and quietly rising Korean financials.

• Foreign futures selling triggered forced selling, but the speaker sees a high chance of a sharp rebound once margin calls clear.
• Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are held for their earnings-supported memory cycle that extends to at least December or Q1 next year.
• Korean semiconductor equipment/materials stocks are seen as a watch candidate for a second-wave rebound as global funds flow in.
• Japanese semiconductor equipment names are attracting massive global capital and should be monitored.
• US banks like Bank of America are making new highs regardless of market weakness, favoured as rate-hike beneficiaries.
• US consumer cyclicals such as GM may benefit from tariff easing ahead of US midterm elections and deserve attention.
• Korean bank/financial stocks are quietly performing well as rate-hike beneficiaries and fit the speaker's constructive portfolio view.
• The speaker urges investors to avoid leverage and margin, and survive the current volatility to capture the eventual fundamental-driven recovery.