00:06If you hold Korean bank stocks or SK Hynix in your portfolio, three numbers from this
00:11week directly affect what you're sitting on.
00:15The Bank of Korea could raise rates again this Thursday.
00:18SK Hynix just turned into the fourth biggest buyer of Korean stocks.
00:23And NVIDIA's earnings this week could move your semiconductor holdings either way.
00:28It's Monday, August 24th.
00:31Let's look at what this means for retail investors in Korea.
00:35Korea's central bank raised its base rate from 2.5% to 2.75% last month, the first hike
00:43in three and a half years.
00:45Now, a survey of 20 economists and bond strategists shows most expect a second straight hike this
00:51Thursday.
00:51At the same time, SK Hynix's buyback and NVIDIA's earnings are reshaping sentiment in the exact
00:59stocks many retail investors already own.
01:02Here's what the numbers show.
01:0413 of 20 surveyed economists and bond strategists, or 65%, expect the Bank of Korea to raise
01:12its base rate by 0.25 percentage points this Thursday.
01:16SK Hynix bought back 650,000 shares on both August 20th and 21st, paying 1.09 trillion won and 1
01:26.13 trillion
01:27won, roughly $790 million and $820 million, for a two-day total of 2.22 trillion won, or about
01:37$1.6 billion.
01:39That buying pushed the other corporations' share of Kospi trading volume from 0.34% to
01:463.77% in two days, an eleven-fold jump, even as foreign investors kept net selling
01:53an average of 1.03 trillion won, or about $740 million, a day this year.
01:59LG Uplus closed at 14,871 won on August 21st, against an average analyst target of 20,139 won,
02:10implying roughly 35% upside.
02:14NVIDIA reports second-quarter earnings on August 26th, with Wall Street forecasting
02:19record revenue of $95 billion, after first-quarter sales beat estimates by $2.5 billion.
02:27So what does this mean for retail investors in Korea?
02:31Earlier, we said SK Hynix has become a fourth buying force in the market.
02:35Here's what that actually means for you.
02:38Its mechanical buybacks are cushioning the Kospi even when foreigners and individuals
02:43sell heavily, which could keep volatility lower through this rate decision.
02:48If the Bank of Korea does hike Thursday, expect bank and insurance stocks to get a near-term lift,
02:54while rate-sensitive growth names face more pressure.
02:58NVIDIA's earnings and Thursday's rate call are the two events most likely to move your
03:03holdings this week, not to buy or sell on, but worth watching closely.
03:08That's today's AI Prism, retail investors.
03:13This episode was produced with AI assistance based on sole economic daily reporting and reviewed
03:19by a human editor. AI Prism is a Juan Ifra award-winning series. We'll be back tomorrow.
03:27You've been listening to AI Prism from sole economic daily.
