On the 14th, the KOSPI closed above the 2700 mark. This week, market attention shifted from semiconductor and other tech stocks to companies related to value-up initiatives.
Kim Dae-wook, a researcher at Hana Securities, explained, "At the beginning of the week, the secondary battery sector rose due to the increase in lithium prices and expectations for all-solid-state batteries, and the semiconductor sector led the market on hopes of increased demand for artificial intelligence (AI). From midweek, as uncertainties over the compensation plan for equity-linked securities (ELS) were resolved, the banking sector showed strength, and capital flows moved to stocks related to value-up programs."
At the center of this market supply and demand change was an institutional investor meeting on corporate value-up support measures held ahead of the shareholder meeting super week. Researcher Kim said, "The government added to ‘Principle 3’ of the Stewardship Code guidelines the content that ‘it is necessary to check whether the investee company is establishing and implementing strategies to improve corporate value in the mid-to-long term while faithfully communicating with the market and shareholders.’ This lays the foundation for expecting more active demands from institutions to enhance shareholder value." He also predicted, "In particular, companies with high shareholding ratios by the National Pension Service and low price-to-book ratios (PBR) are likely to be targets for shareholder value enhancement demands."
Meanwhile, Researcher Kim commented on the U.S. presidential election set for November between Biden and Trump, saying, "The main point of contention between Biden and Trump is energy policy," adding, "Nuclear power can satisfy both candidates. Nuclear power can achieve both decarbonization and energy efficiency."
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