Sector Leaders & Laggards
Gaining Sectors
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment+10.51%
Declining Sectors
Marine Transportation-2.42%
79 sectors · 51 up · 1 unchanged · 27 down · 41 more gainers than the prior day's 10
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment +10.51% · Of 171 stocks: 114 up · 9 unchanged · 48 down85 more advancers than the prior day's 29 · sector rank jumped from 78th to 1st out of 79
Stationery and furniture are sectors with just 1 and 11 constituent stocks, respectivelyMarket-cap weightedSector indexes weight stocks in proportion to market cap · larger stocks exert more influence · In thinly populated sectors, a single stock can determine the ranking
Sector Read
01Semiconductors drove the index higher
The order within semiconductors· Sector · Theme · Stock classification shown explicitly
| Name | Category | Change |
|---|
| SK Hynix | Stock | +12.73% |
| SK Square | Stock | +11.85% |
| Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment | Sector | +10.51% |
| Samsung Electronics | Stock | +9.49% |
| S7A thematic basket grouping seven large-cap semiconductor stocks, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix(Large-Cap Semiconductors) | Theme | +8.60% |
| HBMHigh Bandwidth Memory · DRAM stacked in multiple layers to increase bandwidth | Theme | +1.90% |
| Semiconductor Materials/Components | Theme | +0.74% |
| Samsung Electro-Mechanics | Stock | +0.65% |
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment +10.51% · No. 1 of 79 sectors · among 171 stocks: 114 up · 9 unchanged · 48 down85 more advancers than the prior day's 29 · also above Aug. 14's 86
SK Hynix +12.73% · First session after the share-repurchase disclosure · No. 2 foreign net buy +KRW539.3bn · No. 1 retail net sell -KRW1.5493tn
Samsung Electronics +9.49% · First gain in three sessions · No. 1 foreign net buy +KRW1.1378tn · No. 1 institutional net buy +KRW159.3bn
SK Square +11.85% · No. 2 gainer among the top 10 stocks by market capHolding company with an equity stake in SK Hynix · had the largest decline the prior day
S7A thematic basket grouping seven large-cap semiconductor stocks, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix +8.60% · No. 4 of 219 themes · Materials, Parts & EquipmentMaterials, Parts & Equipment · suppliers of materials and equipment to major semiconductor producers related semiconductor materials/components +0.74% · HBMHigh Bandwidth Memory · DRAM stacked in multiple layers to increase bandwidthwas +1.90%The gap between large-cap memory and materials/parts/equipment was the same as yesterday, only with the signs reversed
Samsung Electro-Mechanics +0.65% · No. 1 retail net buy +KRW327.8bn · No. 1 foreign net sell -KRW230.9bn · No. 1 institutional net sell -KRW104bnA stock where all three investor groups moved opposite to large-cap memory
Short SellingSell borrowed shares → bet on a decline · turnover basis No. 1 short-selling turnover: SK Hynix KRW459.6bn (3.5%) · No. 2 Samsung Electronics KRW368.2bn (3.6%)Prior day, Samsung Electronics ranked No. 1 at KRW421.9bn and 5.7%
The large-cap-memory vs. materials/parts/equipment gap persisted, but in the opposite direction
The No. 1 and No. 2 stocks by market cap drove the index · advancers within the sector also broadened
02Gains were broadly distributed beyond semiconductors as well
Where gains appeared· Sector · Theme · Stock classification shown explicitly
| Name | Category | Change |
|---|
| Moderna | Theme | +13.57% |
| Precious Metals (Gold/Silver) | Theme | +9.00% |
| Life Insurance | Sector | +7.57% |
| Stablecoins | Theme | +6.87% |
| Nonferrous Metals | Sector | +6.35% |
| Biotechnology | Sector | +5.94% |
51 of 79 sectors gained · up 41 from the prior day's 10
Life Insurance +7.57% · Of 4 stocks: 3 up · 1 unchanged · 0 down· prior day -9.50%· from last out of 79 to No. 2 in one day
Nonferrous Metals +6.35% · Of 40 stocks: 20 up · 3 unchanged · 17 downPrecious-metals theme +9.00% · Korea Zinc ranked No. 4 in institutional net buying +KRW23.4bn
Biotechnology +5.94% · Pharmaceuticals +1.84% · Health Care Providers & Services +1.47%Moderna's Phase 3 success spread into mRNA +5.45%· immuno-oncology +4.11%themes
Securities +3.18% · Of 39 stocks: 35 up · 2 unchanged · 2 downPrior day, -3.85%had zero advancers
KOSDAQ Program TradingAutomated multi-stock orders · a channel through which indexes and investor flows move -KRW112.1bn · KOSPI +KRW904.4bnmoved in the opposite direction · third straight day
Gains were broadly distributed outside semiconductors as well
This time, the force lifting the index and the force broadening advancers pointed in the same direction
03Yesterday's leaders slipped again
One day after the Aug. 19 top and bottom sectors· All sector-weighted values
| Sector | 08.19 | 08.20 |
|---|
| Leisure Equipment & Products | +3.09% | +0.67% |
| Specialty Retail | +2.83% | +0.45% |
| Road & Rail Transportation | +2.27% | -1.01% |
| Energy Equipment & Services | +1.82% | +1.61% |
| Life Insurance | -9.50% | +7.57% |
All four prior-day leaders fell in rank · Leisure Equipment & Products dropped from No. 1 to No. 35Only Road & Rail Transportation turned negative · the other three posted smaller gains
Life Insurance -9.50%to +7.57%· from last place to No. 2Property & Casualty Insurance -0.55%to -0.73%fell for a second straight day · the two sectors diverged for a second straight session
Banks -3.50% · last out of 79 · among 11 stocks, 2 up and 9 downThe banking theme also -2.24% · in the same direction as the retreat in U.S. long yields
Marine Transportation -2.42% · down for a second straight day after ranking No. 1 on Aug. 18 · the refining theme -4.45%ranked last out of 219
No. 1 sector rotation · Aug. 12 Electronic Products · Aug. 13 Electronic Equipment & Instruments · Aug. 14 Wireless Telecom Services · Aug. 18 Marine Transportation · Aug. 19 Leisure Equipment & Products · Aug. 20 Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
Leadership rotation continued · this time the top spot belonged to the No. 1 and No. 2 stocks by market cap
No. 1 sector changed for a sixth straight session
What to Watch Next Session
Next-Session Probability· Upside bias based on domestic closing signals
55:45 · not a quantitative forecast probability · relative weight of conditions confirmed at the 15:30 closeTonight's three U.S. data releases and the Aug. 20 U.S. regular session are not included in this probability
UpsideForeign cash and non-arbitrage both flipped to buying · cash +KRW1.7079tn · non-arbitrage +KRW1.2719tnAdvancers, sectors and themes all broadened together · KOSPI advancer ratio rose from 19.1% to a majority · 51 sectors and 181 themes upInstitutions stopped selling Samsung Electronics · No. 1 institutional net buy +KRW159.3bnSK Hynix KRW40.0043tn share repurchase and cancellation · disclosed purchase period began Aug. 20U.S. long yields eased · 30Y 5.19% · 10Y 4.65% · Treasury expanded buybacks
DownsideForeign buying concentrated in large-cap memory · of +KRW2.6068tn total stock-level net buys, +KRW1.6772tn came from the two large caps · outside them, net -KRW80.8bn, a selling biasInstitutional cash -KRW490.4bn · fourth straight day of sellingSOXPhiladelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) · key gauge of global semiconductor stocks -2.12% · second straight decline · no memory rebound confirmed in the U.S. marketAug. 18 close 6,869.83 not recovered · 17.25 points belowTurnover KRW25.79tn · 92% of 5-day average · still below average on a +5.89% dayKOSDAQ Program TradingAutomated multi-stock orders · a channel through which indexes and investor flows move -KRW112.1bn · opposite KOSPI for a third straight day
Variables Excluded from the ProbabilityRetail cash -KRW2.2714tn · counted as the other side of the same trades as foreign buying in large-cap memory, not as an independent signalProgram TradingAutomated multi-stock orders · a channel through which indexes and investor flows moveis already included in investor flows · grouped with foreign cash as one upside factorForeign K200 futures -KRW1.2770tn · institutions +KRW1.4970tn · futures on a surge day can mix hedge unwinds and arbitrageCash–futures basis +1.27 · excluded from directional evidence because closing times differAug. 20 21:30: U.S. initial jobless claims and August Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index; 23:00: July Leading Economic Index · results not yet knownChina August LPR unchanged at 3.0% (1Y) and 3.5% (5Y) · unchanged for 15 months, so not treated as a directional catalystWhether and how much of the SK Hynix repurchase was actually executed · not known before disclosureShort-selling data collected at 15:37 · excluded from directional evidence because it preceded the final regular-session tallyMSCI August review · effective at the Aug. 31 close
Key Flow SignalsAt the Close
Foreign Cash+KRW1.7079tnTurned to buying after one day
Retail Cash-KRW2.2714tnTurned to selling after two days of buying
Samsung Electronics+KRW1.1378tnNo. 1 foreign net buy · No. 2 retail net sell
Non-arbitrage+KRW1.2719tnTurned to buying after two days of selling
KOSPI Breadth57.8%Prior 19.1%
KOSDAQ Breadth61.7%Prior 23.1%
Next Confirmation Conditions
FlowsWhether foreign buying extends to a second day · whether buying in the two large-cap names persists · whether institutions end a five-day selling streak · whether institutions turn to buying SK Hynix
BreadthWhether the 57.8% advancer ratio holds· Whether semiconductor advancers remain at 114· Whether KOSDAQ 834.69 holds The question in this phase is whether KOSDAQ continues to move less than KOSPI, as it has for two straight days
Price · VariablesWhether KOSPI holds above the 6,852.58 close · whether it recovers the Aug. 18 close of 6,869.83 · tonight's three U.S. data releases · disclosure of actual SK Hynix repurchase execution
Flows · Breadth Detail
Flow StructureKOSPI· Naver Finance investor-type aggregates
Retail-KRW2.2714tn
Foreign+KRW1.7079tn
Institutions-KRW490.4bn
Measurement basis · investor totals = Naver Finance · stock-level data = KRX · market scope differs → no cross-summing or share calculations
Foreign · turned to buying after one day · prior -KRW3.4884tnreversed direction from
Institutions · fourth straight day of selling · prior -KRW1.3231tnamount shrank sharply from
Retail · turned to selling after two days of buying · prior +KRW4.6356tnreversed direction from
Foreign cash was bought while futures were sold · ending two straight days of directional alignment
KOSDAQ · Retail +KRW0.9bn · Foreign -KRW127.7bn · Institutions +KRW112.4bn · all three investor groups moved opposite to KOSPI
Foreign investors bought KOSPI but sold KOSDAQ · opposite directions in the two markets for a second straight day
Foreign FuturesKOSPI200 futures net-buy amount · KRX derivatives data · value basis-KRW1.2770tn
Program TradingAutomated multi-stock orders · a channel through which indexes and investor flows move(KOSPI)+KRW904.4bn
USD/KRWMarket Average RateMarket Average Rate series · differs from the 15:30 daytime-session close1,392.90 ▼5.10
Market BreadthShare of advancing stocks · gauge of how broadly gains and losses are distributed
KOSPI 525 / 909 = 57.8% Advancers 521· Limit-up 4· Unchanged 46· Decliners 338· Limit-down 0
KOSDAQ 1,069 / 1,732 = 61.7% Advancers 1,064· Limit-up 5· Unchanged 86· Decliners 576· Limit-down 1
Versus prior day · advancer ratios in both markets nearly tripled
KOSPI advancers were 1.6× decliners · prior day, decliners were 4.0× advancers
KOSDAQ advancer ratio was 3.9%p above KOSPI · second straight day after a 4.0%p gap the prior day
Both markets broadened · KOSDAQ was broader for a second straight day
Turnover KRX data
| Market | Turnover | vs. 5-Day Average |
|---|
| KOSPI | KRW25.79tn | 92% |
| KOSDAQ | KRW5.54tn | 77% |
KOSPI turnover · 82% → 92% of 5-day average · absolute amount KRW22.94tn → KRW25.79tn
KOSDAQ turnover · 84% → 77% · KRW6.13tn → KRW5.54tnKOSPI increased · KOSDAQ decreased
Short SellingSelling borrowed shares → a bearish position · turnover basis · collected Aug. 20 at 15:37 · KOSPI KRW1.97tn · 5.1% of combined KRX+NXT turnover · prior KRW1.98tn and 6.7%Amount was nearly unchanged; only the share fell by 1.6%p
Short Selling · KOSDAQ KRW0.35tn · 5.0% on the same basis · prior KRW0.33tn and 4.6%Only KOSDAQ increased · prior day only KOSPI had increased
No. 1 short-selling turnover: SK Hynix KRW459.6bn (3.5%) · No. 2 Samsung Electronics KRW368.2bn (3.6%)Prior day, Samsung Electronics ranked No. 1 at KRW421.9bn and 5.7%
Highest stock-level ratios: Kyungnam Pharm 47.1% · Seronics 41.0% · Korea Aerospace Industries 40.2%Korea Aerospace Industries edged down from 41.5% the prior day · Hanmi Semiconductor 19.0%
Index rose sharply · KOSPI turnover also increased · but remained below the 5-day average
Flows Over the Last 5 Sessions
Flows Over the Last 5 Sessions KOSPI· Naver Finance investor-type aggregates
08.20Retail-KRW2.27tnForeign+KRW1.71tnInstitutions-KRW0.49tn
Foreign investors turned to buying after one day · most buying was in the two large-cap names · institutional selling extended to four days but shrank · retail turned to selling after two days of buying
08.19Retail+KRW4.64tnForeign-KRW3.49tnInstitutions-KRW1.32tn
Foreign investors turned to selling after five days of buying · most selling was in the two large-cap names · institutions sold for a third day · retail bought for a second day
08.18Retail+KRW0.74tnForeign+KRW0.09tnInstitutions-KRW0.8tn
Foreign buying extended to a fifth day but collapsed from the KRW3tn range to below KRW100bn · institutions sold for a second day · retail turned to buying after four days of selling
08.14Retail-KRW1.98tnForeign+KRW3.04tnInstitutions-KRW1.03tn
Foreign buying extended to a fourth day, the largest of the four · institutions turned to selling after five days of buying
08.13Retail-KRW2.74tnForeign+KRW2.11tnInstitutions+KRW0.68tn
Foreign buying extended, concentrated in the two large-cap names · institutional buying extended to a fifth day · institutions' No. 1 net sell was Samsung Electronics alone
5-session cumulative (Aug. 13–20) · Foreign +KRW3.46tn · Institutions -KRW2.95tn · Retail -KRW1.62tn
Foreign · after five days of buying, one day of selling, then one day of buying again · 5-session cumulative still net positive
KOSDAQ five-session cumulative · Foreign -KRW278bn · Institutions -KRW621bn · Retail +KRW888bn
KOSPI200 futures five-session cumulative · Foreign -KRW1.58tn · Institutions +KRW1.81tnCash +KRW3.46tnwindow that diverged from
Futures ·Program TradingAutomated multi-stock orders · a channel through which indexes and investor flows move
Foreign FuturesKOSPI200 futures net-buy amount · KRX derivatives data · value basis
-KRW1.2770tn
Second straight day of selling · amount increased fifteenfold from -KRW84.0bn the prior day · opposite cash · KRX derivatives amount basis
Institutional Futures
+KRW1.4970tn
Second straight day of buying · prior +KRW553.0bn · opposite foreign investors · retail -KRW229.0bn
Program TradingAutomated multi-stock orders · a channel through which indexes and investor flows move(KOSPI)
+KRW904.4bn
Arbitrage -KRW367.5bn · non-arbitrage +KRW1.2719tn · turned to buying after two days of selling
Cash–Futures Basis
+1.27
Cash 1,080.98 · Sep. 2026 futures · closes differ at 15:30 / 15:45 · same-time futures unavailable → excluded from directional evidence
Arbitrage and non-arbitrage split directions · prior day both were selling
KOSDAQ Program · Arbitrage +KRW1.2bn · Non-arbitrage -KRW113.3bn · Total -KRW112.1bn · diverged from KOSPI · third straight day
Foreign · cash buying versus futures selling · alignment in place since Aug. 18 ended after two days
Institutions · cash -KRW490.4bn · futures +KRW1.4970tn · cash and futures split for a second straight day
Basis · +1.27 versus +1.49 prior day · dashboard classifies it as contango
Program TradingAutomated multi-stock orders · a channel through which indexes and investor flows move · Already included in investor-level flows → no separate addition
Net Buying · Net Selling by Investor
Foreign
Net Buying
- Samsung Electronics+KRW1.1378tn
- SK Hynix+KRW539.3bn
- SK Square+KRW77.1bn
- Samsung Electronics Preferred+KRW49.3bn
- NAVER+KRW41.7bn
Net Selling
- Samsung Electro-Mechanics-KRW230.9bn
- LG Innotek−KRW33.2bn
- Pharmicell-KRW27bn
- SK Telecom-KRW25.1bn
- ST Pharm-KRW25bn
Institutions
Net Buying
- Samsung Electronics+KRW159.3bn
- Samsung Electronics Preferred+KRW71.3bn
- Alteogen+KRW47.2bn
- Korea Zinc+KRW23.4bn
- Samsung SDI+KRW21.6bn
Net Selling
- Samsung Electro-Mechanics-KRW104bn
- Hyundai Motor-KRW46.5bn
- KB Financial-KRW43bn
- LG Innotek-KRW34.9bn
- Kia-KRW32bn
Retail
Net Buying
- Samsung Electro-Mechanics+KRW327.8bn
- LG Innotek+KRW67.4bn
- KB Financial+KRW56.3bn
- LS ELECTRIC+KRW39.6bn
- Doosan Enerbility+KRW35.2bn
Net Selling
- SK Hynix-KRW1.5493tn
- Samsung Electronics-KRW1.2710tn
- Samsung Electronics Preferred-KRW121.7bn
- Alteogen-KRW89.2bn
- NAVER-KRW57.4bn
Four of the top five foreign net buys overlapped with the top five retail net sellsSamsung Electronics · SK Hynix · Samsung Electronics Preferred · NAVER · same positions as the prior day, with directions reversed
No. 1 foreign net sell: Samsung Electro-Mechanics -KRW230.9bn · each of the other four was below KRW40bnNearly fivefold gap versus Samsung Electronics, the No. 1 net buy
Samsung Electro-Mechanics · No. 1 retail net buy +KRW327.8bn · No. 1 net sell for both foreign and institutional investorsA stock where all three investor groups moved opposite to large-cap semiconductors
Institutional net buys No. 1 and No. 2 were Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electronics Preferred · institutions returned to buying Samsung Electronics after three sessionsSK Hynix -KRW24.2bna net sell
Alteogen · No. 3 institutional net buy +KRW47.2bn · No. 4 retail net sell -KRW89.2bn · the two investor groups were directly opposed
What Comes Next
Half the gain came from the opening gap · foreign investors turned to buying · disclosed repurchase period began
Buying ExtendsForeign buying extends to a second day + program buying holds + actual share-repurchase executions are confirmed → checkpoint is whether the Aug. 18 close of 6,869.83 is recovered
PullbackRetail selling expands + U.S. semiconductor weakness persists + tonight's U.S. data disappoint → checkpoint is whether today's open of 6,680.34 holds
Only the two names riseLarge-cap memory holds up on the repurchase and foreign buying while the rest of the market is pressured · advancer ratio falls back into the 30% range
Next checks · whether foreign investors keep buying the two large-cap names + whether the actual executed size of the share repurchase is disclosed
Upcoming Calendar7 Events
Aug. 20 (Thu)
21:30
U.S. initial jobless claims · August Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index
July Leading Economic Index at 23:00 · all three unreleased at publication time
Aug. 21 (Fri)
06:00
Korea July PPI
June MoM 0.0%· YoY +8.6%data to read alongside it
Aug. 25 (Tue)
06:00
Korea August Consumer Sentiment Index
August Business Sentiment Index at 06:00 on Aug. 26
Aug. 26 (Wed)
NVIDIA FY2027 Q2 earnings
After the U.S. regular-session close · revenue ConsensusThe average of brokerage estimates $91.8bn · company GuidanceThe company's own outlook for the next quarter or full year $91bn ±2% · same day at 21:30, U.S. Q2 GDP second estimate plus July personal income and PCE
Aug. 27 (Thu)
Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Board
Current policy rate 2.75% · first meeting after the Jul. 16 hike · Q2 household credit exceeding KRW2,000tn for the first time is an input to the decision
Aug. 27 (Thu)–29 (Sat)
Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium
Theme: financial innovation and payments · Chair Kevin Warsh's speaking schedule had not been announced at publication time
Aug. 31 (Mon)
MSCI August review takes effect
At the close · Korea inclusion: LG Innotek · deletions: HLB, LG Display, POSCO International, Samsung Epis Holdings
Data · Earnings Benchmarks
Released overnight and today· Consensus vs. Actual
| Item | ConsensusThe average of brokerage estimates | Actual |
|---|
| China August LPRChina Loan Prime Rate · the de facto benchmark lending rate published by the PBOC on the 20th of each month 1-year (%) | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| 5-year in same fixing (%) | 3.50 | 3.50 |
| U.S. July FOMCFederal Open Market Committee · policy-rate-setting meeting Upper bound of policy-rate range (%) | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Hike dissenters at same meeting (number) | Not yet reported | 3 |
LPRChina Loan Prime Rate · the de facto benchmark lending rate published by the PBOC on the 20th of each month · 1-year has been unchanged for 15 straight months since May 2025 · 5-year also unchanged
FOMCFederal Open Market Committee · policy-rate-setting meeting Minutes · nine of 12 voted to hold; three favored a 25bp hikeThree dissents were the first since September 2016 · “many participants” judged additional tightening likely to be warranted if inflation failed to decline
U.S. Treasury · longer-dated Treasury buybacksA debt-management tool in which Treasury repurchases outstanding securities · this expansion is intended to support liquidity in 10- to 30-year maturitiesexpanded from $2bnto at least $4bnto · 10–20Y and 20–30Y sectors · Sep. 9–Nov. 4Treasury cited strong participation and significant volumes of high-quality offers in longer-dated buybacks · 30Y fell to 5.19% and 10Y to 4.65%
July FOMC policy rate held at 3.50–3.75% · minutes released locally on Aug. 19 at 14:00 ET
To Be Checked in Sequence· Release times in Korea Standard Time
| Name | Release | Expected |
|---|
| U.S. Initial Jobless Claims | 8/20 | Varies by source |
| U.S. August Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index | 8/20 | Varies by source |
| U.S. July Leading Economic Index | 8/20 | Varies by source |
| Korea July PPI | 8/21 | Not yet reported |
| NVIDIA FY2027 Q2 revenue ($bn) | 8/26 | 918 |
| Same quarter adjusted EPSEarnings per share · net income ÷ shares outstanding · adjusted EPS excludes one-off items($) | 8/26 | 2.08 |
| Bank of Korea policy rate (%) | 8/27 | 2.75 |
Public calendars give differing forecasts for tonight's three U.S. releasesNo original survey naming the polling institution was secured · neither a single value nor a range is shown in the forecast column
Previous readings · jobless claims 209k · July Philadelphia Fed 41.4 · June Leading Economic Index -0.2%July Philadelphia Fed 41.4 was the highest since 2021
Korea June Producer Price Index: MoM 0.0% · YoY +8.6% · first flat MoM reading after nine straight monthly increases
NVIDIA · company GuidanceThe company's own outlook for the next quarter or full year $91bn ±2% · ConsensusThe average of brokerage estimatesconsensus varies by aggregator: revenue $91.7–91.9bn · adjusted EPS $2.08–2.09Body uses the midpoint: $91.8bn and $2.08
BOK meeting · first after the Jul. 16 hike · Jackson Hole begins the same day
Post-close variables · market prices as of Aug. 20 15:38 KST · not final closes
SK Hynix repurchase period begins · Aug. 19 board resolution · KRW40.0043tn · 24.07mn common shares · about 3.3% of 730.49mn shares outstandingDisclosed purchase period Aug. 20–Nov. 19 via on-market purchases · daily cap 2.407mn shares · all acquired shares to be cancelled · reference price KRW1,662,000, the Aug. 18 close
Same disclosure · at least 50% of cumulative 2025–2027 free cash flow to be returned to shareholders · cash dividends to be used alongside buybacksSpecific size and method to be announced with Q3 earnings
WTI $84.61 (-1.42%) · Gold $4,551.20 (+1.38%) · Live quote
Dollar Index 98.825 (-0.01%) · Bitcoin $69,701 (+7.76%) · Live quote
LME Copper $14,180.00 (-1.08%) · Aluminum $3,191.50 (-0.85%) · Aug. 19 final
USD/KRWBase Exchange RateVolume-weighted average of interbank FX transactions · market-average-rate series · differs from the final regular-session transaction rate KRW1,392.90 · -KRW5.10 · KRWstronger for a third straight dayDomestic FX 15:30 daytime-session close unavailable for the USD/KRWreference value · substituted with the same-time Market Average Rate
JPY/KRWper ¥100: KRW878.75 · prior KRW878.36 · +KRW0.39 · same Market Average Rate series
Aug. 20 21:30: U.S. initial jobless claims and August Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index · 23:00 July Leading Economic Index · unreleased at publication time
The disclosed purchase period starts today· Actual execution and amount are not yet known
This Week in Review · Aug. 18–20
Aug. 20 (Thu)KOSPI+5.89%KOSDAQ+1.99%Foreign+KRW1.71tn
Gap-up reflected SK Hynix's KRW40tn repurchase-and-cancellation resolution announced after the Aug. 19 close · buy-sidecar at 09:57 · most foreign buying in the two large-cap names · advancers were a majority
Aug. 19 (Wed)KOSPI-5.80%KOSDAQ-1.17%Foreign-KRW3.49tn
Overnight U.S. 30Y high and SOX -4.98%were reflected in a gap-down open · sell-sidecar at 09:06 · most foreign selling in the two large-cap names · KOSDAQ's decline was one-fifth of KOSPI's
Aug. 18 (Tue)KOSPI-1.55%KOSDAQ-3.52%Foreign+KRW0.09tn
Rose above 7,200 intraday before giving back 427.84 points · only one in five stocks advanced · institutional selling in large-cap semiconductors for a second day
Three-session cumulative this week · KOSPI -1.80%Versus Aug. 14 close 6,977.94 · compounded basis
Advancer ratio · 22.0% → 19.1% → 57.8%
Foreign KOSPI · +KRW91.4bn → -KRW3.4884tn → +KRW1.7079tn
No. 1 sector · Marine Transportation → Leisure Equipment & Products → Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
Sidecar · Aug. 19 sell → Aug. 20 buy · triggered on two straight days, in opposite directions
Technical Levels· Three Indices
KOSPICurrent 6,852.58
Current
6,6006,7886,977
Support6,788.78 → 6,680.34 → 6,600.09 Aug. 18 low· Today's open· Today's Low
Resistance6,869.83 → 6,904.55 → 6,977.94 Aug. 18 close· Today's high· Aug. 14 close
Close remains below the Aug. 18 close of 6,869.83 · distance to the Aug. 14 close of 6,977.94 is 125.36 points
KOSPI200Current 1,080.98
Current
1,0121,0711,100
Support1,071.24 → 1,050 → 1,012.61 Aug. 13 close· Psychological Level· Aug. 19 close
Resistance1,082.00 → 1,098.18 → 1,100 Aug. 18 close· Aug. 14 close· Psychological Level
1.02 points below the Aug. 18 close of 1,082.00 · outperformed KOSPI by 0.86%p
KOSDAQCurrent 840.89
Current
824845872
Support834.69 → 827.97 → 824.46 Today's low· Aug. 18 low· Aug. 19 close
Resistance845.41 → 850.77 → 872.59 Aug. 14 low· Today's high· Aug. 18 high
Closed above the Aug. 18 close of 834.20 · gain was roughly one-third of KOSPI's
One-Line Glossary
- sidecar
- If KOSPI 200 futures stay at least 5% above or below the reference price for one minute, program-trading orders are suspended for five minutes · triggered on the buy side at 09:57 on Aug. 20
- Limit Up· Limit Down
- Daily price limit ±30% · Aug. 20: KOSPI 4 limit-ups · KOSDAQ 5 limit-ups · KOSDAQ 1 limit-down
- FOMC
- Federal Open Market Committee · policy-rate-setting meeting · July meeting held 3.50–3.75%, with three dissenters favoring a hike
- Treasury buybacks
- Treasury debt-management tool that repurchases outstanding securities · this expansion supports liquidity in 10–30Y maturities · not the same as reducing net debt or Federal Reserve QE
- CMT
- Official Treasury maturity yields based on 15:30 ET quote collection · not actual final transaction prices
- LPR
- China Loan Prime Rate · the de facto benchmark lending rate published by the PBOC on the 20th of each month
- SOX
- Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) · key gauge of global semiconductor stocks
- ADR
- Depositary receipt for a foreign company listed in the U.S. · locally traded price
- S7
- A thematic basket grouping seven large-cap semiconductor stocks, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix
- HBM
- High Bandwidth Memory · DRAM stacked in multiple layers to increase bandwidth
- Materials, Parts & Equipment
- Materials, Parts & Equipment · suppliers of materials and equipment to major semiconductor producers
- EPS
- Earnings per share · net income ÷ shares outstanding · adjusted EPS excludes one-off items
- Consensus· Guidance
- Consensus = average of brokerage forecasts · guidance = company-provided outlook
- Short Selling
- Selling borrowed shares → bearish positioning · Aug. 20 KOSPI KRW1.97tn · 5.1% of combined KRX+NXT turnover
- Flow Concentration
- Share of each side's aggregate stock-level buys/sells accounted for by the top names · KRX data
- Program Trading
- Automated multi-stock orders · a channel for index and flow moves · already included in investor-level flow data
- Arbitrage· Non-arbitrage
- Arbitrage = exploits cash-futures price differences · non-arbitrage = other program trading such as index tracking
- Cash–Futures Basis
- Cash closes 15:30 / futures 15:45 → not the same timestamp, so excluded from directional signals · positive basis = contango
- Base Exchange Rate
- Volume-weighted average of interbank FX transactions · market-average-rate series · differs from the final regular-session transaction rate · USD/KRWreference is the 15:30 domestic FX daytime-session close
- Sector· Theme Performance
- Sector = market-cap weighted · theme = simple average of constituents · when values conflict, sector value is the reference
- Market-cap weighted
- Sector indexes weight stocks in proportion to market cap · larger stocks exert more influence
- Market Breadth
- Share of advancing stocks · gauge of how broadly gains and losses are distributed
Sources & Data Notes
- Korea Exchange (KRX) · Naver Finance KOSPI 6,852.58 (+5.89%, Aug. 20 final close) open 6,680.34 · high 6,904.55 · low 6,600.09 / KOSDAQ 840.89 (+1.99%) open 843.99 · high 850.77 · low 834.69 / KOSPI 200 1,080.98 (+6.75%, closing basis) / market breadth: KOSPI 521 up · 4 limit-up · 46 unchanged · 338 down · 0 limit-down; KOSDAQ 1,064 up · 5 limit-up · 86 unchanged · 576 down · 1 limit-down / turnover: KOSPI KRW25.79tn (92% of 5-day avg) · KOSDAQ KRW5.54tn (77%): dashboard (Naver Finance daily index data · KRX source, raw-data header Aug. 20 13:38:03 ICT = 15:38 KST)· Breadth = (advancers + limit-ups) ÷ total including unchanged: KOSPI 525÷909 = 57.8%; KOSDAQ 1,069÷1,732 = 61.7%· 5-session cumulative +4.16% is compounded versus the Aug. 12 close of 6,579.04(cross-checked against Rolling Log 04)· Domestic FX 15:30 daytime-session close unavailable for the USD/KRWreference · used same-time Market Average Rate KRW1,392.90 (prior KRW1,398.00) with the series explicitly labeled · because the series changed, replace if the reference close becomes available· JPY/KRWper ¥100 KRW878.75 (prior KRW878.36) is also from the Market Average Rate series
- Buy-Side Sidecar Triggered Aug. 20 at 09:57 · KOSPI 200 futures stayed at least 5% above reference price 1,014.10 for one minute: Maeil Shinmun· Intraday index and stock-count figures in the same article were live readings and not used in the body · only trigger time and rule cited · sequence number for the year was not confirmed and therefore omitted· Prior Aug. 19 09:06 sell-sidecar cross-checked against the previous published report
- Investor-Level Totals(Naver Finance investor-type data, Aug. 20 close) KOSPI retail -KRW2.2714tnand foreign investors +KRW1.7079tnand institutions -KRW490.4bn / KOSDAQ Retail +KRW0.9bnand foreign investors -KRW127.7bnand institutions +KRW112.4bn / KOSPI 200 retail -KRW2.2039tnand foreign investors +KRW1.7220tnand institutions -KRW558.2bn· Program TradingAutomated multi-stock orders · a channel through which indexes and investor flows move KOSPI Arbitrage -KRW367.5bn· Non-arbitrage +KRW1.2719tn· Total +KRW904.4bn, KOSDAQ arbitrage +KRW1.2bn· Non-arbitrage -KRW113.3bn· Total -KRW112.1bn· Cash–futures basis +1.27 (cash 1,080.98 · Sep. 2026 contract, expiry 2026-09, different closing times → excluded from directional evidence)· Dashboard intraday basis was -0.88 backwardation · final close was +1.27 contango · only the final value is used· 5-session cumulative (Aug. 13–20) KOSPI foreign +KRW3.46tnand institutions -KRW2.95tn· Retail -KRW1.62tn, KOSDAQ foreign -KRW278bnand institutions -KRW621bn· Retail +KRW888bn, K200 futures foreign -KRW1.58tnand institutions +KRW1.81tn· Retail -KRW148bn· K200 futures, same-day foreign -KRW1.2770tnand institutions +KRW1.4970tn· Retail -KRW229bn
- Stock-Level Investor Flows KRX investor trading data (entire stock market · final regular session, raw-data header Aug. 20 14:07:06 ICT = collected at 16:07 KST). Foreign net buys: Samsung Electronics +KRW1.1378tn· SK Hynix +KRW539.3bn· SK Square +KRW77.1bn· Samsung Electronics Preferred +KRW49.3bn·NAVER +KRW41.7bn, foreign net sells: Samsung Electro-Mechanics -KRW230.9bn· LG Innotek -KRW33.2bn· Pharmicell -KRW27bn· SK Telecom -KRW25.1bn· ST Pharm -KRW25bn / institutional net buys: Samsung Electronics +KRW159.3bn· Samsung Electronics Preferred +KRW71.3bn· Alteogen +KRW47.2bn· Korea Zinc +KRW23.4bn· Samsung SDI +KRW21.6bn, institutional net sells: Samsung Electro-Mechanics -KRW104bn· Hyundai Motor -KRW46.5bn· KB Financial -KRW43bn· LG Innotek -KRW34.9bn· Kia -KRW32bn· SK Hynix -KRW24.2bn / retail net buys: Samsung Electro-Mechanics +KRW327.8bn· LG Innotek +KRW67.4bn· KB Financial +KRW56.3bn·LS ELECTRIC +KRW39.6bn· Doosan Enerbility +KRW35.2bn, retail net sells: SK Hynix -KRW1.5493tn· Samsung Electronics -KRW1.2710tn· Samsung Electronics Preferred -KRW121.7bn· Alteogen -KRW89.2bn·NAVER -KRW57.4bn· SK Square -KRW56.5bn. Foreign stock-level net buys total +KRW2.6068tn · net-sell stocks total -KRW1.0104tn · the two large-cap names +KRW1.6772tn, and retail in the two large caps -KRW2.8203tn; all are sums of raw values rounded afterward, with no concentration ratio using the investor-total series as denominator. Table cells are rounded individually, so the two-cell sum (+16,771 in KRW100mn) differs by KRW100mn.· Gross-netting check · outside the two names, foreign buys KRW929.6bn versus sells KRW1.0104tn = net -KRW80.8bn selling bias; retail outside the two names = +KRW548.1bn buying bias· Flow ConcentrationShare of each side's aggregate stock-level buys/sells accounted for by the top names · KRX data Foreign buy TOP1 44% · TOP5 71%, sell TOP1 23% · TOP5 34%, retail sell TOP1 41% · TOP5 81% are recalculated from the original Excel data
- Final Stock Closing Prices Samsung Electronics KRW271,000 (+9.49%· market cap KRW1,584.3tn) · SK Hynix KRW1,691,000 (+12.73%· KRW1,235.3tn) · Samsung Electronics Preferred KRW191,200 (+10.07%· KRW153.4tn) · SK Square KRW1,123,000 (+11.85%· KRW148.2tn) · Samsung Electro-Mechanics KRW1,396,000 (+0.65%· KRW104.3tn) · Hyundai Motor KRW417,500 (+0.85%) · LG Energy Solution KRW358,000 (+0.14%) · Samsung Biologics KRW1,574,000 (+1.94%) · Samsung C&T KRW374,000 (+7.78%) · Hanwha Aerospace KRW1,167,000 (−0.85%): KRX top market-cap stocks · regular-session closes (dashboard, Naver Finance source)· Short SellingSelling borrowed shares → a bearish position · turnover basis · collected Aug. 20 at 15:37 Market-wide short selling: KOSPI KRW1.97tn (5.1% of market turnover) · KOSDAQ KRW0.35tn (5.0%); top turnover: SK Hynix KRW459.6bn (3.5%) · Samsung Electronics KRW368.2bn (3.6%) · Samsung Electro-Mechanics KRW129.8bn (7.7%) · SK Square KRW118.7bn (9.1%) · Hanmi Semiconductor KRW38.8bn (19.0%); highest ratios: Kyungnam Pharm 47.1% · Seronics 41.0% · Korea Aerospace Industries 40.2% · KT 38.5% · KEPCO KPS 37.3%· Short-selling tally combines KRX+NXT · collected at 15:37 KST · dashboard labeled it “intraday” · because it precedes the final regular-session tally, collection time is shown in the body and it is excluded from next-session probability evidence
- Aug. 19 U.S. market final Dow 53,463.05 (+0.22%)·S&P500 7,707.98(+0.21%) · Nasdaq 26,331.09 (+0.16%)·SOX 11,738.23(−2.12%)·VIX 14.89(−6.00%): dashboard (Naver Finance · Yahoo-derived) cross-checked with TradingKey·Kukje News cross-check· Individual stocks: Marvell +9.85%· SK Hynix ADR +0.35%· Micron −0.39%· Nvidia −0.99%· SanDisk −3.50%·AMD −3.71%· Broadcom −4.61%· Western Digital −6.87%· Seagate −7.87%also from the same market-close article· U.S. 10Y 4.65% · 30Y 5.19% are Treasury CMT (Daily Treasury Par Yield Curve, based on 15:30 ET quote collection)(U.S. Treasury par-yield close ·)prior day 4.71% and 5.28%, respectively · both maturities standardized to the same CMT series · dashboard's market-close series (^TNX 4.653%) not used · tooltip notes that these are official par-yield-curve values, not actual last trades· SK Hynix ADR rose as much as 6% intraday before closing +0.35% · no local report identifying a specific catalyst for the afternoon pullback was secured, so no cause is stated· Moderna +176.97%· Merck +12.60%reports Phase 3 success for the melanoma mRNA vaccine co-developed with Merck (Kukje News)· Specific catalyst for Marvell's surge was not confirmed · only the return is shown· Samsung Electronics has no U.S. ADR · London GDR excluded because its close occurs at a different time
- July FOMC minutes(local Aug. 19 14:00 ET = Aug. 20 03:00 KST) policy rate held at 3.50–3.75% · 9 of 12 voted to hold · 3 favored a 25bp hike · three dissents were the first since September 2016 · “many participants” judged additional tightening likely to be warranted if inflation did not decline: Newsis·Herald Business cross-check· U.S. Treasury longer-dated Treasury buybacks $2bn → at least $4bn per operation · 10–20Y and 20–30Y sectors · Sep. 9–Nov. 4, 2026 · announced locally Aug. 19: U.S. Treasury press release OriginalCNBC Cross-check· The stated reason is the original wording, “consistent strong sponsorship from market participants, as evidenced by the significant volume of high-quality offers Treasury routinely receives in longer-dated buyback operations” · strong flows of sell offers into longer-dated buybacks were the backdrop · the interpretation that “there are no buyers in this part of the curve” runs counter to the original and is not used
- China August LPR(Aug. 20 fixing) 1-year 3.00% · 5-year 3.50%, unchanged · same levels for 15 straight months since May 2025: People’s Daily
- Sectors & Themes Naver Finance sector/theme performance (final close, raw-data header Aug. 20 14:00:07 ICT = collected at 16:00 KST). Of 79 sectors: 51 up · 1 unchanged · 27 down; of 219 themes: 181 up · 38 down· Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment +10.51%(of 171 stocks: 114 up · 9 unchanged · 48 down) · Life Insurance +7.57%(of 4 stocks: 3 up · 1 unchanged · 0 down) · Nonferrous Metals +6.35%(of 40 stocks: 20 up · 3 unchanged · 17 down) · Biotechnology +5.94%· Securities +3.18%(of 39 stocks: 35 up · 2 unchanged · 2 down) · Banks −3.50%(of 11 stocks: 2 up · 0 unchanged · 9 down) · Stationery −2.97%· Furniture −2.64%· Marine Transportation −2.42%· Themes: Moderna +13.57%· Precious Metals (Gold/Silver) +9.00%·S7 +8.60%· Stablecoins +6.87%·mRNA +5.45%· Immuno-Oncology +4.11%·HBM +1.90%· Semiconductor Materials/Components +0.74%· Banks −2.24%· Refining −4.45%· No. 1 sector rotation history (Aug. 13 Electronic Equipment & Instruments · Aug. 14 Wireless Telecom Services · Aug. 18 Marine Transportation · Aug. 19 Leisure Equipment & Products · Aug. 20 Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment) cross-checked against Rolling Log 04 and the prior published report
- SK Hynix treasury-share acquisition and cancellation resolution(Aug. 19 board) acquisition amount KRW40.0043tn · 24.07mn common shares · about 3.3% of 730.49mn shares outstanding · purchase period Aug. 20–Nov. 19 · daily cap 2.407mn shares · on-market purchases · all acquired shares to be cancelled · reference price KRW1,662,000, the close one day before the board meeting · 2025–2027 cumulative FCF shareholder-return ratio raised from up to 50% to at least 50% · specific size and method to be announced with Q3 earnings: Herald Business·Financial News·MoneyToday cross-check· Background on the share-price surge: Bizwatch· Actual same-day execution amount was not yet disclosed, so it is not stated anywhere in the body or supporting factors
- Upcoming Calendar · Consensus U.S. initial jobless claims · August Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index Aug. 20 21:30 (8:30 ET) · U.S. July Leading Economic Index Aug. 20 23:00: release schedules from Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia·The Conference Board Original· Forecasts differ across public calendars · jobless claims 201k–210k · Leading Economic Index -0.1% to +0.1% · original survey from a named polling institution (Econoday · Reuters poll) not secured · forecast column therefore shows neither a single value nor a range, only “Varies by source,” while prior readings remain as reference· Previous readings: jobless claims 209k · July Philadelphia Fed 41.4 · June Leading Economic Index −0.2%· Korea July Producer Price Index Aug. 21 06:00 (June MoM 0.0% · YoY +8.6%, consensus unavailable) · August Consumer Sentiment Aug. 25 06:00 · August Business Sentiment Aug. 26 06:00· NVIDIA FY2027 Q2 after the Aug. 26 U.S. regular-session close · company revenue guidance $91bn ±2% from NVIDIA Newsroom Original· Revenue consensus varies by aggregator at $91.7–91.9bn · adjusted EPS $2.08–2.09 · midpoint $91.8bn and $2.08 used· Aug. 27 Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Board (current policy rate 2.75%)· Jackson Hole Symposium Aug. 27–29 · theme: Financial Innovation: Implications for Payments and Policy(Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City)Chair Kevin Warsh's speaking schedule had not been announced at publication time and is therefore omitted· MSCI August review: Korea inclusion LG Innotek · deletions HLB, LG Display, POSCO International, Samsung Epis Holdings · effective at the Aug. 31 close: MSCI announcement
Disclaimer: This material is for market-structure analysis and organization of decision-relevant information only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument.
