iShares MSCI South Korea ETF

EWY

Börsenwert 21,4 Mrd. $

The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) offers concentrated exposure to South Korea's memory sector, dominated by Samsung and SK, with valuations now well below historical averages. Despite cheapness, KOSPI's 12-month forward P/E at 4.54x, persistent selling reflects fears of a 1997-style crisis, retail leverage, and foreign outflows. I see key differences from 1997: the won is stable, exports are strong, and memory sector backlogs provide multi-year earnings visibility.

South Korean and Japanese stocks rebounded on Wednesday as investors returned to semiconductor and AI shares hammered in Tuesday's rout, though the recovery stopped well short of signalling an all-clear. The KOSPI was up about 1.5% at 6,123 by 11:30 am in Seoul after briefly gaining more than 2%, while the Nikkei 225 rose 0.61% to 68,193.13 at Tokyo's midday break.

The Korean market rises on falls on expectations for profitability of the semiconductor industry and how long it can be sustained. Sentiment is cyclical and right now, the skepticism is rising

Asian stocks diverged on Wednesday as South Korea's KOSPI extended its retreat while Japan's Nikkei 225 held close to 70,700, showing how differently the region's two chip-heavy markets are absorbing high US yields, firm oil and stretched AI valuations. The KOSPI fell 1.16% to 6,860.73 by 11:20 am in Seoul as foreign investors sold a net 1.16 trillion won of shares and institutions also turned sellers.

Asian market opened the week firmer on Monday as a sharp slowdown in US hiring pushed investors towards a Federal Reserve pause this month, giving rate-sensitive technology stocks room to rebound. Japan led the advance, with the Nikkei 225 jumping 2.5% above 70,000 to a three-month high, while Taiwan's Taiex gained about 2.6%.

South Korean stocks struggled to turn Micron Technology's record earnings into a lasting rally on Thursday, leaving the KOSPI near flat even as Japan's Nikkei 225 surged on renewed enthusiasm for semiconductor shares. The KOSPI recovered from an early 0.34% decline to trade around 6,805 by late morning, while Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix erased opening losses.

Exports from Asia's fourth-largest economy, home to memory-chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, rose 83.5% from a year earlier to $120.94 billion in September.

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Asian stocks came under renewed pressure on Tuesday as rising oil prices and a global bond selloff pushed borrowing costs higher, but the damage was uneven across the region's two major technology-heavy markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell about 1.2% to 65,070.58 in early trade, while South Korea's KOSPI was down a much smaller 0.2% near 6,877 late in the morning.

Asian stocks came under renewed pressure on Monday as another rise in oil prices and global bond yields reopened questions over how long expensive equity markets can withstand higher borrowing costs. South Korea bore the heavier selling after returning from the Chuseok break, with the KOSPI sliding sharply as foreign investors cut exposure to semiconductor heavyweights.