South Korean semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are experiencing significant declines in early trading, following a sharp drop in U.S. semiconductor stocks. SK Hynix has seen its shares fall by over 6%.
As of 9:19 a.m., SK Hynix shares were trading at 1,305,000 won, down 91,000 won (6.52%) from the previous trading day. Samsung Electronics also reported a decline of 8,500 won (3.90%), bringing its stock price to 209,500 won.
The sell-off is affecting semiconductor-related stocks broadly. Samsung Electronics' preferred shares fell by 6,200 won (3.61%) to 165,500 won, while SK Square, the largest shareholder of SK Hynix, dropped by 53,000 won (5.90%) to 846,000 won.
The downturn in South Korean semiconductor stocks is attributed to a widespread decline among AI-related semiconductor companies on the New York Stock Exchange. Concerns have arisen that the Democratic Party's control of both houses in the U.S. midterm elections could lead to stricter regulations on the AI industry and hinder the expansion of data center construction. Recently, domestic semiconductor firms had seen rising expectations for improved performance due to increased memory prices and growing AI demand, but doubts about the sustainability of large-scale investments by U.S. tech giants have heightened stock price volatility.
On November 4, NVIDIA shares fell by more than 3%, while U.S. memory semiconductor companies Micron and SanDisk each dropped by over 7%. In contrast, major tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon saw their stocks rise, highlighting a divergence in stock performance among companies benefiting from increased AI investment.
Concerns are mounting that a slowdown in data center expansion could impact the rising demand for AI semiconductors, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM), further dampening investor sentiment toward domestic semiconductor stocks.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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