Samsung and SK hynix post worst weekly plunge since 2008 as foreigners dump shares

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix closed out their worst trading week in nearly two decades as foreign investors fled South Korean chip stocks, Korea Exchange data showed (Korea Herald, The Investor, Yonhap via NOCUTNEWS).

Samsung shares tumbled 17.8% over the week of October 12–16, closing at 215,500 won after opening at 262,000 won — the steepest weekly decline since the fourth week of October 2008, when the stock fell 19.3%.

SK hynix fared even worse, plunging 24.3% from 1,681,000 won to 1,272,000 won, its sharpest weekly fall since the third week of November 2008’s 31.9% drop.

Foreign investors were net sellers of 11.21 trillion won of KOSPI-listed stocks during the week, with Samsung (3.47 trillion won) and SK hynix (5.35 trillion won) accounting for a combined 78.8% of total net foreign selling. Foreign ownership of Samsung sank to 45.98%, the lowest since July 2009, while SK hynix’s foreign ownership slipped to 48.85%, its lowest since December 2021.

The sell-off was driven by uncertainty over US interest rates, doubts about the returns on massive AI investments, and growing competition from China — where ChangXin Memory Technologies plans next-generation server memory on a denser 4F-squared cell architecture by the end of 2026 — despite strong recent earnings at both chipmakers.

Offering a counterpoint, Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month SK hynix price target to 3.5 million won in a Sunday note, citing a memory supply squeeze expected through 2028 (ad-hoc-news.de).