SEOUL, January 31 (AJP) - Shares of South Korea’s leading chipmakers, SK hynix and Samsung Electronics, tumbled Friday as investors reacted to mounting uncertainty in the artificial intelligence sector following the shockwaves from Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.
SK hynix, a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for AI applications, plunged 9.86 percent to 199,200 won, while Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, declined 2.42 percent. Hanmi Semiconductor also saw sharp losses, dropping 6.14 percent.
The sell-off came as investors grappled with concerns that DeepSeek’s emergence could reshape the competitive landscape of the AI industry. The downturn was further exacerbated by the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady, adding to broader market uncertainty.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 19.43 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 2,517.37. The index opened slightly lower at 2,534.33, then quickly deepened its losses.
In currency markets, the Korean won opened sharply lower against the U.S. dollar, starting at 1,446.0 won per dollar, up 14.7 won from the previous session.
Shares of Nvidia, which had plummeted on Jan. 27 in response to the DeepSeek shock, recovered slightly, rising 0.77 percent. Other U.S. semiconductor stocks, including TSMC and Broadcom, gained 2.88 percent and 4.51 percent, respectively.
"While major U.S. technology stocks have stabilized, they have yet to reclaim their previous levels," said Cho Byung-hyun, an analyst at Daol Investment & Securities.
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