1.4 million electronics is just around the corner… The reason behind Samsung Electronics' 7% surge in a single day

Samsung Electronics’ stock price surged over 7% in a single day, approaching the “140,000 KRW” mark. Driven by expectations of a recovery in the semiconductor industry and expanded investments related to artificial intelligence, major Korean semiconductor stocks collectively strengthened, with the KOSPI index also hitting a record high.

On January 5th, at the Korea Exchange, Samsung Electronics closed at 138,100 KRW, up 7.47% from the previous trading day. The stock opened at 134,600 KRW and maintained a steady upward trend during the day, briefly rising to 138,600 KRW in the afternoon, setting a new high. This means that within just two days, the stock price has moved from the “120,000 KRW” range through the “130,000 KRW” range and is now approaching the breakthrough point of “140,000 KRW.”

This trend is not unique to Samsung Electronics. SK Hynix also closed at 696,000 KRW, up 2.81%, briefly surpassing 700,000 KRW during the day, earning the nickname “700,000 Hynix.” The strong performance of major semiconductor stocks is also directly reflected in the KOSPI index. On that day, the KOSPI closed up 3.43%, at 4,457.52 points, setting new all-time highs for both closing and intraday prices.

This overall market rally echoes positive news from the global technology sector. Recently, semiconductor-related stocks in the US stock market have also performed strongly, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index soaring over 4% last week. Domestically in Korea, the expansion of AI infrastructure and expectations of a recovery in memory semiconductor prices have also contributed to pushing up the stock prices of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Foreign investors also actively bought on that day. On the Korea Exchange, net purchases by foreigners totaled 21.748 trillion KRW, leading the index higher, while individual and institutional investors sold 1.51 trillion KRW and 702.4 billion KRW respectively. This is interpreted as a sign that foreign capital is re-entering based on confidence in the domestic semiconductor industry.

Despite short-term fluctuations, this market trend seems to reflect confidence that the semiconductor industry has entered a long-term growth phase again. Especially with foreign funds flowing into mega-cap companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, they are likely to become the driving force behind the overall stock market rally. Going forward, depending on the recovery of the global economy and memory demand, this upward trend may further spread.