[Market View] How far will the impact of ‘Jensen Hwang step down’ go? Watch the impact of KOSPI

KOSPI is expected to explore its direction by paying attention to foreign supply and demand in the aftermath of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's resignation on the 13th and a surge in international oil prices.

The previous day, KOSPI closed at 5,342.73, down 32.63 points (0.61%), ending the day with a decline for the first time in three days.

The index started at 5,385.94, up 10.58 points (0.20%) from the previous day, and repeated upward and downward transitions. At one point during the day, it rose 1.55% to 5,458.84, but later fell 1.53% to 5,293.05.

As of market close, individuals and institutions had a selling advantage of 204 billion won and 691 billion won, respectively, in the stock market. On the other hand, foreigners had a purchasing advantage of 370.5 billion won. The 'lion' trend continued for three consecutive trading days until this day.

When aftermarket transactions are included, individuals and institutions net sold 278.5 billion won and 652.6 billion won, respectively. Foreigners have a buying advantage of 412.2 billion won.

KOSPI started strong thanks to the rise of U.S. technology stocks, but was partially influenced by news of the possible dismissal of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who caused a big stir due to an affair scandal, and explored intraday direction.

Among the 'two top' domestic semiconductor companies, SK Hynix [000660] (-1.80%) started on the rise, but eventually ended lower after fluctuating during the day. For Samsung Electronics [005930] (+0.97%), the increase rate even fell to 0.00% at one point.

Meanwhile, the KOSDAQ index closed at 696.53, down 8.57 points (1.22%), hitting the 700 mark again in one day.

The domestic stock market seemed to be reflecting some of the related concerns in the stock price, assessing the impact the situation surrounding CEO Hwang would have on Nvidia.

Last night, Nvidia's board of directors announced in a statement that CEO Hwang would step down from his position as CEO and director immediately. At the same time, Colette Kress, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Vice President, was appointed as interim CEO.

In the New York stock market, all three major stock indexes fell amid CEO Hwang's resignation and a surge in international oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 189.40 points (0.36%) from the previous day, and the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 0.35% and 0.39%, respectively.

NVIDIA's stock price started off plummeting by 13.08%, but gradually narrowed the decline and ended up falling by 4.34%.

As concerns about the AI ​​(artificial intelligence) supply chain from Nvidia emerged, memory suppliers Micron (-1.59%), SanDisk (-4.11%), and SK Hynix American Depository Receipt (ADR·-3.19%) fell. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was weak by 0.54%.

Competitors AMD (+5.86%) and Broadcom (+5.54%) showed strength in anticipation of a return to the Nvidia incident.

Neocloud company Nevius plummeted 16.84% due to increased facility investment and delayed sales despite strong performance. Coreweave (-6.86%) also plummeted.

Investor sentiment also weakened as international oil prices rose again due to U.S. President Donald Trump's hardline remarks against Iran and heightened tensions in the Middle East.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures price for December delivery ended trading at $88.74 per barrel, up 2.55% from the previous day. Brent crude oil futures for January delivery closed at $95.82 per barrel, up 3.30%.

President Trump said on his social media, "We do not need an agreement with Iran," and instructed Vice President JD Vance, who had been seeking a deal with Iran, to focus on other work.

Morgan Stanley Capital International's (MSCI) Korean stock market exchange-traded fund (ETF), which can gauge investment sentiment in the domestic stock market, fell 1.64%. However, the KOSPI 200 overnight futures index rose 0.78%.

Accordingly, there is a possibility that this day will be a day for the domestic stock market to explore its direction.

Seo Sang-young, managing director of Mirae Asset Securities, said, "After the domestic stock market started on the rise, there will be a trend of listings for sale toward the latter part of the market, taking into account the burden of foreign supply and demand, etc." He added, "However, it is favorable that the perception that it is an individual risk for NVIDIA rather than a slowdown in demand for the AI ​​industry as a whole in the U.S. stock market has spread."

Jiyoung Han, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, predicted, "Despite external burden factors such as CEO Hwang's resignation issue, weak Nevius stock price, and rising interest rates and oil prices, the pre-recognition of some related negative news and the inflow of low-price buying forces will limit the bottom of the index, showing a differentiated market for the industry."