Samsung and SK Hynix Post Worst Weekly Stock Rout Since 2008
Shares in South Korea’s two leading memory-chip makers recorded their steepest weekly declines since the global financial crisis as foreign investors sold heavily amid concerns over interest rates, AI investment returns and Chinese competition.
South Korea’s two largest memory-chip makers suffered their sharpest weekly share-price declines since the 2008 global financial crisis, as record foreign selling intensified concerns about artificial intelligence investment, US interest rates and competition from China.
Samsung Electronics fell 17.8 percent between Monday and Friday, dropping from 262,000 won to 215,500 won. It was the company’s steepest weekly decline since the fourth week of October 2008, when its shares lost 19.3 percent during the global financial crisis.
SK Hynix recorded an even larger fall. Its shares dropped 24.3 percent over the week, from 1.681 million won to 1.272 million won. That marked the chipmaker’s worst weekly performance since the third week of November 2008, when the stock tumbled 31.9 percent.
Foreign investors were the main force behind the retreat. They sold a net 11.21 trillion won worth of shares listed on the benchmark Kospi during the week, according to Korea Exchange data. Net selling of Samsung Electronics reached 3.47 trillion won, while sales of SK Hynix totaled 5.35 trillion won. Together, the two companies accounted for 78.8 percent of all net foreign selling on the Kospi.
The selloff also reduced foreign ownership to levels not seen in years. Foreign investors held 45.98 percent of Samsung Electronics as of Friday, the lowest proportion since July 2009. Their ownership of SK Hynix declined to 48.85 percent, its lowest since December 2021.
The losses came despite strong earnings at both companies, indicating that investors were focusing more heavily on external risks. Those concerns include uncertainty surrounding US monetary policy, questions about whether enormous spending on AI infrastructure will deliver adequate returns and pressure from Chinese memory-chip producers.
ChangXin Memory Technologies, China’s largest DRAM maker, has announced plans to introduce next-generation server memory based on a denser 4F-squared cell architecture by the end of 2026. The plan has heightened scrutiny of the Korean companies’ long-term competitive position, although the Chinese producer has not shown that it can manufacture the technology economically at scale and has not disclosed detailed specifications or production yields.
SK Hynix is facing an additional source of uncertainty over a possible US listing of Solidigm, its NAND flash subsidiary. Some investors are concerned that a separate listing could weigh on the parent company’s valuation.
With macroeconomic conditions still unfavorable and several industry questions unresolved, market volatility around Korea’s largest chip stocks may remain elevated in the near term.