"Was 7,200 the Bottom?"... KOSPI Rebounds After Four Days

KOSPI Rebounds After Four Sessions
Foreign Investors Turn to Net Buying for Second Consecutive Day
Volatility Likely to Continue Amid Semiconductor Peak Concerns

On the 9th, at the Hana Bank headquarters dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, employees are monitoring the stock market and exchange rates as the KOSPI successfully rebounded after consecutive sharp declines. The KOSPI opened at 7,486.64, up 239.85 points (3.31%) from the previous session, while the KOSDAQ also started at 794.03, gaining 9.03 points (1.15%) and continuing its upward trend. Photo by Cho Yongjoon, July 9, 2026

The KOSPI, which had plunged due to concerns over a semiconductor peak, managed to rebound after four days. Despite various uncertainties surrounding the semiconductor sector, a growing perception that stock prices had dropped excessively compared to fundamentals such as earnings and outlook led to an inflow of bargain-hunting investors.

KOSPI Rebounds After Four Trading Sessions, Foreign Investors Turn Net Buyers

As of 10:00 a.m. on July 9, the KOSPI was trading at 7,470.89, up 3.09% from the previous session. This marks a rebound after four trading days since July 3. Foreign investors, who had dragged down the index by net selling KOSPI stocks for 13 consecutive sessions, became net buyers of approximately KRW 330 billion as of 9:51 a.m., contributing to the index's rise. Institutions also posted a net purchase of about KRW 600 billion, while individual investors were net sellers of KRW 900 billion. The KOSDAQ was also trading at 808.42 as of 10:02 a.m., up 2.98%.

Despite mixed results on the New York stock market overnight due to instability in the Middle East, the Korean stock market managed to rebound. The Dow Jones fell by 1.09% from the previous session, and the S&P500 also dropped 0.28%. The Nasdaq, however, rose by 0.20%. The market initially declined following U.S. President Donald Trump's remark that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for ending hostilities with Iran "seems to be over," but losses narrowed after he later stated that he does not believe the war with Iran will "restart." Major semiconductor stocks such as Micron (up 1.1%), SanDisk (up 6.77%), Broadcom (up 4.8%), and Nvidia (up 3.7%) gained, pushing the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 2.2%.

The KOSPI is also showing strength led by semiconductor stocks. As of 9:47 a.m., Samsung Electronics was trading at KRW 2,885,000, up 3.96% from the previous session. SK hynix was trading at KRW 22,430,000, up 8.04%. Other major gainers included SK Square (up 7.24%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (up 4.53%), LG Energy Solution (up 3.01%), and Samsung C&T (up 3.67%).

Securities firms assessed that the recent sharp decline brought the Korean stock market to a technical bottom, creating conditions for bargain hunting. According to Kiwoom Securities, the KOSPI’s 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio (PER) stood at 6.25 as of the previous day, falling below the trough of 6.27 recorded during the 2008 financial crisis, reflecting a very low valuation. Ji-Young Han, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "The KOSPI had technically entered oversold territory," adding, "From a valuation perspective, the area around 7,280 points was a plausible bottom." Han further analyzed, "The perception that the plunge was excessive is drawing in bargain hunters, and the market is likely to attempt a rebound."

Hana Securities also suggested that the upper 7,200-point range could have been a short-term bottom for the KOSPI. According to Hana Securities, during past periods of major declines caused by factors such as U.S. interest rate hike fears and the outbreak of war with Iran, the maximum drawdown (MDD) from the KOSPI’s peak averaged about -20%, which would correspond to roughly 7,290 points under current conditions. Jaeman Lee, a researcher at Hana Securities, commented, "As of yesterday, 88% of KOSPI stocks had fallen more than 30% from their highs this year," adding, "Since many large-cap stocks have already taken significant hits, it is reasonable to think that a price bottom may be forming."

Concerns Over Semiconductor Peak-Out Persist

However, concerns about a semiconductor "peak-out" (a decline after reaching the peak) remain, especially in the United States, which is a source of uncertainty. Goldman Sachs, a U.S. investment bank, projected that companies in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, which had previously led an earnings surprise rally, are unlikely to resume such a rally in the second quarter.

Christian Mueller-Glissmann, Portfolio Strategy & Asset Allocation Research Lead at Goldman Sachs, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV the previous day, "The large-scale earnings surprises driven by AI appear to be coming to an end. Earnings alone may not be enough to spark another rally," adding, "While there is still a high likelihood that companies will deliver results exceeding market expectations this season, the bar has already been set very high."

In Korea, some securities firms, including Kiwoom Securities and BNK Securities, are also voicing concerns about a possible peak-out, with some lowering their price targets for Samsung Electronics following its second-quarter earnings announcement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.