Shares of South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell sharply on Thursday morning as investors reacted to mixed activity on Wall Street and a post‑hours plunge in SanDisk Corp. stock.
Samsung Electronics slides after opening dip
At 9:23 a.m., Samsung Electronics was trading at 241,000 won, about 2 percent below the previous close. The stock opened 1.83 percent lower at 241,500 won and briefly touched 239,500 won, a 2.64 percent drop, before trimming some of the loss.
Market observers linked the weakness to the overnight performance of U.S. indices, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49 percent while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.17 percent and 0.83 percent respectively. This suggests Korean chipmakers remain sensitive to broader market swings, especially when major tech names show volatility.
Related: Korea Posts Record Current Account Surplus
SK hynix suffers larger loss amid pre‑market activity
SK hynix shares were down 6.12 percent at 1.566 million won. The stock opened 4.08 percent lower at 1.6 million won and continued to slide throughout the session.
One factor cited was the company’s opening trade in Nextrade’s pre‑market session, where it initially traded at 1.168 million won, a 29.98 percent drop from the prior close. Although only 11 shares changed hands, the continuous‑trading mechanism set that price as the opening level, triggering a volatility interruption that forced a two‑minute single‑price trading window. After the interruption, the decline narrowed to the upper‑3‑percent range.
Retail investors bought 129.1 billion won of Kospi stocks, while foreign investors sold 178.4 billion won. In the electrical and electronics sector, which includes both Samsung and SK hynix, retail and institutional investors were net buyers of 136.8 billion won and 10.1 billion won respectively, but foreign investors remained net sellers of 152.8 billion won.
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SanDisk reported adjusted earnings per share of $39.25, surpassing consensus estimates of $34.96, and gave a revenue outlook of $10.3 billion to $10.8 billion for the next quarter. Despite the solid results, the market reaction was negative, highlighting how volatile expectations can be for semiconductor and storage firms.
Robot‑related stocks rose after the government announced a push to develop the robotics industry and accelerate physical AI adoption. Rainbow Robotics gained 4.13 percent, T‑Robotics climbed 8.36 percent, and Cosmo Robotics advanced 9.21 percent.
Hyundai Department Store reported a second‑quarter operating profit of 79.3 billion won, a 9 percent year‑over‑year decline and below the consensus estimate. The stock fell 5.09 percent to 104,500 won.
