Why did South Korean stocks fall on Friday morning?

Investors took profits by selling major chip shares after overnight losses in U.S. AI and semiconductor stocks weighed on the broader U.S. market. The Dow edged up, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell.

How did Samsung Electronics and SK hynix shares perform during Friday morning trading?

Samsung Electronics fell 3.03 percent and SK hynix declined 0.25 percent. SK hynix had pared its earlier losses after news that it had decided to suspend plans to list its U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm.

What was the concern about a separate Solidigm listing in SK hynix’s corporate structure?

Solidigm sits within a multilayered structure in which SK Square is the parent of SK hynix, which owns Solidigm. The article says a separate listing could exacerbate the holding company discount, where a parent company’s stock trades below the value of its underlying assets.

Seoul stocks trade sharply lower Friday morning on profit-taking

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Summary

Korean stocks fell sharply in Seoul late Friday morning as investors sold major chip shares to take profits after overnight losses in U.S. AI and semiconductor stocks. The KOSPI was down 2.44 percent at 5,398.48 as of 11:20 a.m. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix shares declined, while SK hynix pared earlier losses after suspending plans to list its U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm. The won traded at 1,324 per dollar.

Key Facts

The KOSPI opened 2.36 percent lower before shedding 135.29 points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.02 percent, while the S&P 500 fell 1.21 percent and the Nasdaq Composite declined 2.6 percent.
Micron Technology fell 6.26 percent, Nvidia dropped 4.4 percent and Intel tumbled 8.04 percent overnight.
Samsung Electronics shares lost 3.03 percent, while SK hynix shares fell 0.25 percent.
SK Square edged down 0.4 percent after news that SK hynix had suspended plans to list Solidigm.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 23, 2026 9:24 am KST
Updated Oct 23, 2026 11:43 am KST

The KOSPI index is displayed at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

Korean stocks traded sharply lower late Friday morning as investors offloaded major chip shares to take profits following overnight losses in U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks.

After opening 2.36 percent lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 135.29 points, or 2.44 percent, to 5,398.48 as of 11:20 a.m.

Overnight, U.S. stocks closed mixed, with losses in major technology shares weighing on the broader market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.02 percent, while the S&P 500 fell 1.21 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 2.6 percent.

Micron Technology plunged 6.26 percent, while Nvidia and Intel tumbled 4.4 percent and 8.04 percent, respectively.

In Seoul, large-cap shares traded lower.

Semiconductor heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix shed 3.03 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively. SK hynix pared its earlier losses following news that it had decided to suspend plans to list its U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm.

AI investment firm SK Square edged down 0.4 percent following the news.

Solidigm sits within a multilayered corporate structure, with SK Square as the parent of SK hynix, which owns Solidigm. The structure has raised concerns that a separate listing could exacerbate the so-called holding company discount, in which a parent company's stock trades below the value of its underlying assets.

The Korean won was trading at 1,324 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 2.5 won from the previous stock trading session.

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