Last month, due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, foreign capital that had flowed out of the domestic stock market like an ebb tide suddenly reversed its course. This shift occurred as investor sentiment, which had been avoiding risk assets, turned towards expectations of a semiconductor supercycle. According to the Korea Exchange, foreign investors recorded net purchases exceeding a staggering 5 trillion won in the domestic securities market so far this month. Notably, the selling trend that had continued until early this month completely reversed starting on the 7th. The decisive trigger for this change in flow was Samsung Electronics, which announced overwhelming earnings. The company's operating profit of over 57 trillion won significantly exceeded market expectations, leading to aggressive buying signals from foreign investors. Over the approximately two weeks from the 7th to the 21st, the scale of foreign net buying reached 5.5 trillion won. This means the selling streak that lasted for 11 consecutive trading days since the 19th of last month came to an abrupt halt. Foreign funds were primarily concentrated in the two leading domestic semiconductor companies, often referred to as 'Sam-Hynix.' Since the 7th, net buying is estimated at over 2.46 trillion won for SK Hynix and over 1.83 trillion won for Samsung Electronics (including preferred shares). This stands in stark contrast to last month during the Middle East instability, when they sold off approximately 18 trillion won and 8 trillion won worth, respectively, in the same two stocks. Market expectations that SK Hynix's upcoming earnings, to be announced soon, will also be strong are fueling the buying. The securities industry is successively raising this year's operating profit forecasts for the two semiconductor giants. According to one investment information service, the combined projected operating profit for the two companies this year is estimated to exceed 500 trillion won. This is a figure 30% to 50% higher than the forecasts at the end of last month. An industry official explained, "The semiconductor export boom is providing confidence in earnings improvement," adding, "The fact that semiconductor exports until mid-April have nearly doubled compared to the same period last year is the basis for the optimism." Meanwhile, foreigners are also showing selective selling in some stocks. This month, net selling on the scale of hundreds of billions of won has continued in shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, non-ferrous metal company Korea Zinc, and electrical equipment firm LS Electric, among others. This shows that while the overall buying trend centered on semiconductors is driving the index, differentiated investment strategies are being deployed across industries. A market expert predicted, "The structure is such that foreign net buying is leading the rise in major domestic indices," and added, "Optimistic earnings outlooks will likely remain at the center of the market flow for the time being."