The KOSDAQ index has reached a historic high. After approximately 26 years since the dot-com bubble in 2000, it broke through the 1200 level, capturing investors' attention. The closing index rose 2.51% from the previous day to 1203.84, surpassing the record set on February 27, before the war. The surge in the index is primarily due to better-than-expected earnings from semiconductor giants such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. This positive news for these large companies has created an atmosphere expecting a "leakage effect" that will spread to downstream companies in the semiconductor ecosystem, including materials, components, and equipment suppliers.
The dominant force driving today's investment flow was the strong buying pressure from foreign investors. Foreign investors engaged in a net purchase totaling 730 billion won in the KOSDAQ market, driving the market upward. This is the largest inflow of funds recorded in 50 days since May 1st of last month, with institutional investors also contributing by net purchasing more than 180 billion won. Foreign investors particularly focused on companies supplying inspection equipment, process gases, and wafer test components essential for semiconductor production processes. Companies such as Jeju Semiconductor, SFA Semiconductor, and Techwing, centered around these themes, saw their stock prices rise significantly due to large-scale foreign purchases.
The strong performance of semiconductor companies has translated into rising stock prices for small and medium-sized component suppliers. Following Samsung Electronics' first-quarter operating profit of 5.7 trillion won, SK Hynix also achieved results nearing a 72% operating profit margin, with sales around 5.2 trillion won. The expansion of capital investment by these large companies and expectations of continued prosperity have acted as a favorable wind for related firms. Goyoung, which produces semiconductor inspection equipment and brain surgery robots, recorded a new high with a 29.95% surge, while PiMT, Aspro, and ALT also rose by over 20%, attracting market attention.
Compared to the KOSPI market, the KOSDAQ showed a relatively steeper upward trend. While the securities market saw some adjustment due to profit-taking centered on large semiconductor stocks, the KOSDAQ achieved a powerful rebound driven by strong buying pressure at lower prices. The cosmetics and biotech sectors also performed well; cosmetics export revenue reached a record high on a quarterly basis, and biotech companies showed upward momentum as top market-cap stocks. Experts forecast that this year's corporate performance will surpass the boom of 2022 and advise paying special attention to DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) post-process equipment companies.