Samsung Electronics, SK hynix slide as Wall Street semiconductor rout hits Korea
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix sank in early trading as a sharp Wall Street semiconductor selloff spilled into Korea's stock market.
A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows Samsung Electronics and SK hynix opening on June 8. Samsung Electronics later fell below the 300,000 mark for the first time since May 28, with SK hynix falling below the 2 million mark for the first time since May 26.
NEWS1
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the twin pillars that had been leading Korea's stock market, both plunged in early trading in the wake of a semiconductor-driven shock that rattled the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Samsung Electronics was trading at 298,500 ($190.50) won as of 9:12 a.m. on Monday, down 9.27 percent from the previous session.
The stock slipped below 300,000 won for the first time since May 28, after remaining above the threshold for six trading sessions. Heavy selling pressure once pushed the stock down to 292,500 won.
SK hynix traded at 1.9 million won as of 9:12 a.m., down 8.02 percent from the previous close.
Shortly after the market opened, a wave of panic selling sent the stock tumbling to as low as 1.86 million won. It was the first time SK hynix had fallen below 2 million won since May 26.
The plunge in Korea's semiconductor stocks followed mounting concerns over U.S. monetary policy and a broad selloff in technology shares that spread through the NYSE.
Nasdaq dropped 4.18 percent to close at 25,709.43 on Friday.
Semiconductor stocks saw huge lossess, with Nvidia falling 6.2 percent, Micron Technology plunging 13.3 percent and AMD dropping 10.9 percent.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, a benchmark that tracks the performance of major U.S.-listed semiconductor companies, slumped 10.26 percent. This marks the index's steepest decline since March 2020.
Market experts say weak investor sentiment triggered by losses on Wall Street is likely to continue weighing on the Korean stock market for the time being.
BY KO SEUNG-PYO [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
