(Yonhap)
The stocks of Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. fell on Tuesday morning amid a broader downturn triggered by sluggish U.S. markets.
Samsung Electronics shares were trading at 272,000 won ($181.3) as of 9:07 a.m., down 3.2 percent from the previous session. SK hynix shares were also down 2.34 percent at 1.797 million won.
The decline in Korea followed an overnight drop in Wall Street’s semiconductor sector, where the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 2.47 percent.
Sentiment was further dampened after Seagate CEO Dave Mosley, speaking at a JPMorgan Tech Conference, struck a cautious tone on future capacity expansion, saying that new investment plans “take too long.”
His remarks were interpreted as a signal of slower-than-expected supply expansion in the AI and semiconductor cycle.
Markets, which had been pricing in aggressive capital spending to meet surging AI data center demand, reacted negatively to the remarks. Investors also interpreted the comments as raising concerns that the semiconductor industry may be approaching a cyclical peak.
However, losses in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index later narrowed after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had instructed the military not to proceed with a planned strike on Iran, easing concerns over geopolitical tensions and helping stabilize oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields.
Foreign investors and institutions were net sellers in the Korean market, while individual investors were net buyers. Foreigners sold over 1.1 trillion won and institutions sold about 158.9 billion won while retail investors net purchased more than 1.24 trillion won.
Separately, LG Innotek shares rose 3.55 percent to 787,000 won on Tuesday morning.
The gain was driven by expectations that its substrate business is being revalued as a second growth engine alongside its optical components division.
KB Securities Co. Analyst Kim Dong-won raised his price target from 950,000 won to 1.2 million won, forecasting that the substrate business will rapidly increase its contribution to operating profit – from 11 percent in 2024 to 30 percent by 2027 – driven by surging demand for high-value, large-area, multilayer substrates used in AI data centers.
NH Investment & Securities Analyst Hwang Ji-hyun also upgraded expectations, citing tightening substrate supply conditions and expanding capacity investment from customers.
Hwang added that demand related to camera specification upgrades from major clients is likely to exceed prior expectations.
On the tech-heavy Kosdaq, Neowiz Holdings Corp. surged 16.38 percent to trade at 23,800 won as of 9:22 a.m., after briefly touching a monthly high of 24,500 won.
The company, a holding entity in the software and gaming sector, owns game developer Neowiz among its subsidiaries.
Neowiz Holdings had disclosed on Monday that it would enter into a 10 billion won treasury stock purchase trust agreement for cancellation purposes. The move was interpreted as a shareholder-friendly policy, fueling investor buying interest.
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