Getting Over Vertigo

Research evidence excerpt

Getting Over Vertigo

Idea

July 19, 2026 09:05 PM GMT

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc, Seoul Branch+MSouth Korea | Asia Pacific Joon Seok

Equity Analyst

Getting Over Vertigo Joon.Seok@morganstanley.comHeewon Choi +82 2 399-4934

Heewon.Choi@morganstanley.com +82 2 399-4836

It's been an inauspicious start to 2H26, with many investors Minseo Kang

feeling the effects of market vertigo. Trading has been too ResearchMinseo.Kang@morganstanley.comAssociate +82 2 399-4816

narrow and needs to broaden to sustain a buoyant market with

lower volatility. Slow and steady wins the race: barbell strategy.

Key Takeaways

The KOSPI is down 18% in 2H26 as of July 16. Chipmakers have fallen more than

Please refer to related reports below:

23% during this period, accounting for 70% of the market cap decline.

South Korea: Regulators Announced Tighter

We keep our KOSPI target at 9,000 but lower our bear case to 6,000 from Measures for Single-Stock Leveraged ETFs (16

6,500 and adjust down our 3 to 6-month KOSPI trading band to 6,000~9,000. Jul 2026)

We tweak our sector allocation. We upgrade Comm Svc. to overweight and put Korea Macro Strategy, Equity Strategy &

Banks as our top sector, followed by IT, Industrials and Healthcare. Economics: Why Is KRW So Weak? (9 Jul 2026)

South Korea: Nearing the Bottom? (8 Jul 2026) We adjust our view on Industrials post-correction. We put defense on top,

South Korea: Shaken but Not Broken (23 Jun followed by shipyards, power generation/nuclear, and overseas E&C.

2026)

Overcoming vertigo easier said than done: Not everyone has the constitution to Investor Presentation: S. Korea Strategy and

deal with vertigo. The moves shown by the KOSPI and chipmakers, driven by Industrials (19 Jun 2026)

leveraged ETFs, have led to fatigue.