On the morning of the 2nd, the domestic stock market saw investor sentiment somewhat contract, centered around large-cap semiconductor stocks, as the impact of overnight correction in the U.S. semiconductor sector continued.

In the overnight U.S. stock market, major semiconductor stocks including SanDisk, Micron, Intel, and Texas Instruments fell across the board, with profit-taking sell-offs emerging. Analysts suggest this trend has had a direct impact on the domestic market as well.

The market interprets that the U.S. semiconductor sector, having maintained a sharp upward trend based on expectations of expanded AI investment in the first half of this year, faced growing short-term valuation pressures, leading to expanded profit-taking. Combined with concerns over the pace of AI data center investment, investor sentiment across the overall semiconductor sector contracted.

In the domestic stock market, large-cap stocks Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were directly affected by these developments, acting as a drag on the index. While assessments suggest that the memory semiconductor business fundamentals remain solid, the short-term correction in U.S. semiconductor stocks appears to have stimulated profit-taking sentiment in domestic semiconductor stocks as well.

Beyond semiconductors, buying momentum slowed across AI-related equipment, power infrastructure, and component sectors, limiting the KOSPI's upward elasticity.

The market believes that the direction of U.S. tech stocks and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index could continue to influence investor sentiment in domestic semiconductor stocks for the time being. However, a significant number within the securities industry view this correction as a short-term consolidation phase rather than a deterioration in business fundamentals.

The upward trend in memory prices and demand for AI server high-bandwidth memory (HBM) continues, and with limited new supply expansion, medium- to long-term semiconductor business fundamentals are evaluated as relatively solid.

[This article was written with the assistance of AI. Investment decisions are the responsibility of the investor, and market conditions may change in real time.]