Korean chip stocks rise on Nvidia surge

[Photo by Reuters / Yonhap]

Shares in major Korean semiconductor makers, including Samsung Electronics Co., SK hynix Inc., and Hanmi Semiconductor Co., gained in early trading on Wednesday thanks to Nvidia Corp.’s recent surge on the New York Stock Exchange.

Samsung Electronics shares traded at 77,700 won ($57), up 2.1 percent from the previous trading day. SK hynix‘s stock price rose 3.13 percent to 187,600 won per share, while Hanmi Semiconductor saw its shares gain 4.42 percent to hit 118,200 won.

The stocks’ strong performance comes after a rebound in the U.S. market, where shares of tech and artificial intelligence stocks, including Nvidia, put an end to a recent bearish trend. Nvidia’s stock rose 6.53 percent in New York on Tuesday, following a 4.08 percent gain the previous day.

Meanwhile, JYP Entertainment Corp shares declined sharply, with a fall of more than 7 percent early Wednesday after the company reported a significant earnings shock for the second quarter of 2024.

The company’s shares traded at 50,700 won, down 7.14 percent from the previous day. The stock, which opened 5.67 percent lower, fell as much as 8.24 percent to 50,100 won.

JYP Entertainment posted second-quarter revenue of 95.7 billion won and an operating profit of 9.3 billion won, down 36.9 percent and 79.6 percent year-on-year, respectively, falling short of market expectations. In response to the dismal earnings results, some securities firms, including Samsung Securities Co., Hanwha Investment & Securities Co., Eugene Investment & Securities Co., and Hana Securities Co., lowered their price targets for the company.

For its part, LS Electric Co. saw its shares surge in early trading, which were up more than 9 percent following its inclusion into the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Korea Index.

LS Electric shares traded at 183,600 won, up 9.09 percent from the previous session. The global equity index provider MSCI announced LS Electric‘s addition to its Korea Index in its August review the day before.