Which Stocks Should You Buy in January?

KB Securities "Focus on Battery, Media, Entertainment, Leisure, and Healthcare Stocks in January"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Soyeon] KB Securities suggested focusing on stocks related to secondary batteries, media, entertainment, leisure, and healthcare in January.

According to FN Guide on the 1st, KB Securities stated in a recent report, "The economic slowdown and Federal Reserve tightening that occurred in the second half of 2021 are expected to continue into the first half of 2022," adding, "However, as spring passes, there are increasing signals that current concerns will peak."

In terms of sectors, they highlighted reopening-related stocks and small-to-mid cap growth stocks that have undergone price adjustments. They also mentioned stocks that were adjusted following the emergence of the Omicron variant. KB Securities said, "Reopening-related stocks and small-to-mid cap growth stocks that experienced year-end price adjustments appear to be entering the final phase of technical correction," and "January can be an opportunity to increase exposure during these adjustments." They added, "Although these were recommended as buys in the September strategy, the short-term rebound targets set from a top-down perspective are now quite close."

KB Securities emphasized paying attention to policy (2022 Economic Policy Direction) and supply-demand (net foreign purchases). From a policy perspective, they particularly highlighted artificial intelligence (AI). They assessed that government policy aims to expand AI application areas, which signifies a turning point that will raise growth expectations. KB Securities noted, "The AI sub-sector to watch is biohealth (digital healthcare), and the representative recommended stock is Syntekabio."

Additionally, KB Securities expressed expectations for net foreign purchases, citing the main background as China's policy stance shift. While there was an economic work conference in December 2021, the two sessions (Lianghui) can be anticipated in March 2022. They also mentioned that individual buying momentum could be expected in January following the major shareholder taxation issue.

KB Securities advised, "At the beginning of the year, it is necessary to add stocks with high growth expectations for 2022 and exclude those likely to have weak sales in Q4 2021," and based on this, they recommended focusing on secondary batteries and materials, contact sectors (leisure, distribution), content and metaverse (entertainment, gaming), and IT components and equipment.