Semiconductor ETFs Lead Returns on SK Hynix Rally
Overseas ETFs That Soared Last Year Lose Momentum
Semiconductor-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) composed of domestic listed companies have recorded high returns since the beginning of the year. The expectation that SK Hynix will continue its high growth this year based on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is interpreted as having influenced the related ETFs.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 15th, among the ETFs listed domestically from the 2nd of this month to the previous day, KODEX Semiconductor Leverage recorded the highest return of 21.37%.
Following that, TIGER Semiconductor TOP10 Leverage (19.20%) and HANARO Semiconductor Core Process Leading Stocks (17.40%) took second and third place, respectively. Also, PLUS Hanwha Group Stocks (16.75%), TIGER 200 Energy Chemical Leverage (15.85%), SOL AI Semiconductor Materials and Components (15.62%), and UNICORN SK Hynix Value Chain Active (14.58%) showed high returns in that order.
Notably, six out of the top 10 highest-yielding ETFs since the beginning of this year were semiconductor-related ETFs. Their returns depended on whether SK Hynix and value chain stocks were included in their components. The KODEX Semiconductor Leverage ETF, which ranked first, had KODEX Semiconductor ETF (15.13%) and SK Hynix at 14.89%, holding the largest proportions. Also, SK Hynix accounted for 24.36% of the KODEX Semiconductor ETF.
For HANARO Semiconductor Core Process Leading Stocks, PSK Holdings and Hanmi Semiconductor, which supply equipment to SK Hynix, had the highest proportions at 15.83% and 15.63%, respectively. Additionally, Hanmi Semiconductor accounted for 19.20% of SOL AI Semiconductor Materials and Components.
As of the previous day, SK Hynix recorded 195,000 KRW, rising 12.13% compared to the end of last year. This performance surpasses the KOSPI's increase of 4.08% during the same period. This upward trend is due to expectations of SK Hynix's performance improvement this year based on HBM. As of the 13th of this month, securities firms forecast SK Hynix's sales and operating profit for this year at 83.891 trillion KRW and 34.0429 trillion KRW, respectively. These figures represent increases of 27.01% and 45.46% compared to last year's expected sales of 66.0518 trillion KRW and operating profit of 23.4043 trillion KRW.
Kim Kwangjin, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, explained, "It is unlikely that SK Hynix's leading position in the HBM market will change in the short term," adding, "We believe that SK Hynix will maintain a virtually monopolistic position in the HBM3E 12-layer market, which will fully bloom from the second half of this year, and is likely to enjoy a price premium alone."
On the other hand, overseas ETFs that recorded high gains last year are showing sluggish returns. ACE US Big Tech TOP7 PLUS Leverage, which ranked first in annual returns last year (201.6%), recorded -7.26%. Following that, PLUS US Tech TOP10 Leverage, ranked second (180.5%), recorded -9.45%, and KODEX US Seohak Gae-mi, ranked third (103.3%), recorded a return of -7.31%.
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