August 18 Closing Market: Only Retail Investors Absorbed It Again... Strong Morning Weak Afternoon, KOSPI Gave Back 7,000 Points | Hong Seon-hye, Lee Kwon-hee, Kim Jang-yeol

Summary

The panel reviewed the August 18 KOSPI and KOSDAQ reversal, where an AI-led morning rally collapsed after Japanese yield and yen-carry-trade fears triggered foreign selling. Kim Jang-yeol argued that the AI and memory demand story remains intact and that Korean memory is cheap versus US peers. Lee Kwon-hee highlighted individual longs in PCB and equipment names, LS Group, refining, food, KOSDAQ tech, and shipping, while advising tactical caution on index levels.

• KOSPI fell 1.5 percent to 6,869 and KOSDAQ fell 3.52 percent to 834 after a strong morning and weak afternoon.
• The panel attributed the reversal mainly to Japanese JGB yields, poor bond auctions, and yen carry trade liquidation fears.
• Kim Jang-yeol said AI investment is underpinned by real capital and token growth, so the memory uptrend should resume.
• SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics are viewed as lagging US memory names and cheap enough to catch up.
• Lee Kwon-hee discussed bullish setups in Isu Petasys, LS Corp, LS Electric, S-Oil, Samyang Foods, Silicon2, Hana Micron, HPSP, and HMM.
• Index technical levels were defined: KOSPI must hold its 120-day moving average, while KOSDAQ is above its 50-day moving average with possible 900 upside or 800 downside.
• The panel viewed yen carry trade unwind as a present risk but likely less acute than in 2024.