[Anchor]

Boosted by the strength of artificial intelligence-related stocks, the U.S. stock market continues to break all-time highs.

However, South Korea's Kospi remains stuck around the 7,000 level for the third consecutive month despite record-breaking earnings by semiconductor companies. Lee Tae-gwon analyzes the reasons behind this trend.

[Reporter]

New York stock indices, including the Nasdaq and S&P 500, have extended their rallies to hit record highs this week.

In contrast, South Korea's Kospi closed at 6,625, hovering around the 7,000 mark for three months.

While AI remains at the center of the market, why is it failing to gain momentum in South Korea unlike the U.S.?

First, the domestic market lacks liquidity.

The monthly average trading value on the Kospi, which reached nearly 50 trillion won in May, halved to 21 trillion won last month.

Following the shock of the market plunge in July, individual investors have lost both their capital and willingness to invest, while foreign investors net sold 197 trillion won this year.

There is no driving force to pull the index upward.

At a deeper level, there is unease regarding semiconductors, which drive the domestic market.

In the U.S., major tech giants such as Nvidia, Amazon, and Meta—the so-called Magnificent 7—are starting to see the fruits of their massive AI investments reflected in their earnings.

South Korea makes money by selling memory chips to these companies, but doubts linger over how long Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix can sustain their high profit margins.

In particular, questions have been raised over whether memory prices will find it difficult to maintain their steep upward trajectory as production increases from expanded factory capacities starting in 2028, easing supply shortages.

In fact, the monthly price growth rates for general-purpose PC DRAM and NAND have dropped to the single digits recently, unlike the sharp increases seen at the beginning of the year.

The market is paying close attention to whether Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will address memory demand outlooks during their earnings announcements scheduled for the end of this month.

[Interview / Kim Jae-seung / Researcher, Hyundai Motor Securities : If the growth in Q (memory sales volume) is accompanied by P (prices) not dropping, once that is confirmed, people will naturally be able to buy memory stocks again without worry.]

Additionally, U.S. AI firm Anthropic is scheduled to go public in November. While some forecast this will gauge market interest in the sustainability of AI, others expect it to have a negative impact on the domestic market due to capital concentration elsewhere.

(Video reporting: Choi Ho-jun, Video editing: Kim Jong-mi, Design: Lee So-jung)