July 13 Market Report: July 10 Global Stock Report: Semiconductor Equipment and Foundries Rally, AMD and Micron Up 6%... Big Tech Moves Sideways

Strong Performance in Semiconductor Equipment and Foundries

On July 10, 2026, semiconductor-related stocks recorded notable gains in the global market despite a generally defensive atmosphere. Lam Research, a wafer manufacturing equipment company, surged 6.00% from 333.15 won the previous day to 353.17 won, signaling strong buying interest. On the same day, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rose approximately 6.0% to close at 546.72 won. Micron increased by 5.0% to 991.64 won. This simultaneous rise is attributed to market analysis that the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) server demand directly leads to increased production in memory and foundries. Semiconductor equipment investment acts as a leading indicator. The results reflect expectations that performance for equipment companies like Lam Research will improve significantly later, fueled by the rapid increase in fabless process expansion and advanced packaging demand. In particular, Micron is expected to see a significant improvement in profitability as shipment volumes of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) increase.

Big Tech Stagnation and Valuation Polarization

While the semiconductor sector showed strength, traditional Big Tech companies continued their sideways trend, alternating between minor gains and losses. Nvidia fell 0.01% from 204.12 won to 202.78 won. Apple and Amazon barely moved, rising 0.01% to 316.22 won and 247.04 won, respectively. Tesla finished at 406.55 won, up 0.03%.

Ticker	Price	Change	Market Cap	PER
Nvidia	202.78 won	-0.01%	4.91 trillion won	31.1
Apple	316.22 won	+0.01%	4.64 trillion won	38.3
Alphabet (A)	358.89 won	-0.01%	4.38 trillion won	27.6
Microsoft	384.36 won	+0.00%	2.86 trillion won	22.8
Tesla	406.55 won	+0.03%	1.53 trillion won	369.6

Although stock prices have stalled, the pace of corporate earnings growth shows distinct differences. The Price-to-Earnings Ratio (PER) is a metric showing the price level relative to earnings, calculated by dividing the stock price by Earnings Per Share (EPS). Nvidia's PER is 31.1, lower than Apple's 38.3. However, Nvidia's EPS growth rate reaches 6,599.3%. In contrast, Tesla's PER has risen as high as 369.6. This implies that the stock price has risen faster than earnings growth. Alphabet is considered a relatively undervalued tech stock, maintaining a PER of 27.6 while recording an EPS growth rate of 3,419.4%. Ultimately, the market has entered a phase where it strictly weighs individual companies' earnings defensive power and growth momentum.

Profit Deterioration Concerns and Defensive Stock Flows

Stocks lacking earnings support faced distinct downward pressure. Despite a 0.05% rise from the previous day, Meta Platforms saw its EPS growth rate plummet by -256.0%. Exxon Mobil also recorded a sluggish growth rate of -1505.1%, falling 0.03% to 137.46 won. Tesla's EPS growth rate nosedived to -4709.0%, exposing extreme valuation burdens. Falling crude oil prices and concerns over a global economic slowdown acted as factors worsening the profitability of the energy sector.

Ticker	Price	Change	Market Cap	EPS Growth
Meta	631.48 won	+0.05%	1.60 trillion won	-256.0%
Exxon Mobil	137.46 won	-0.03%	0.57 trillion won	-1505.1%
Johnson & Johnson	259.1 won	-0.02%	0.62 trillion won	8887.0%
Berkshire Hathaway	495.45 won	+0.00%	1.07 trillion won	-

Conversely, a clear differentiation emerged in safe assets and the pharmaceutical sector. Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson proved its solid fundamentals against random market volatility, recording an EPS growth rate of 8,887.0% despite a 0.02% drop in stock price. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway maintained a break-even stance at 495.45 won, defending a market cap of 1.07 trillion won. Based on a low valuation with a PER of 14.7, there is a clear trend of investment capital fleeing to safety.

Market Impact and Investment Implications

In a market environment where volatility has increased due to recent expansion of geopolitical risks in the Middle East, investors are concentrating funds on semiconductor cyclical stocks that show definite earnings growth. The fact that the energy sector, such as Exxon Mobil, showed a downward trend due to falling oil prices despite heightened geopolitical tensions suggests the market views the possibility of all-out war as low and considers earnings deterioration a greater risk factor.

The current stock market has significantly less patience for companies posting poor performance amidst high PERs. The definitive metric of EPS growth rate is expected to serve as the key standard differentiating stock winners from losers.

Intel rose 0.02% to 112.54 won despite having a negative PER (loss). This is interpreted as a reflection of investment sentiment that bets on future market share recovery, even if it means incurring large-scale losses from the transition to advanced processes. However, investors still draw the line at the Invesco QQQ Trust's market average PER of 32.1. With continued interest rate fluctuations and macroeconomic uncertainty, the polarization toward AI beneficiaries backed by explosive earnings growth and value stocks with excellent earnings defensiveness is expected to intensify for the time being.