South Korean Stocks Surge; SK Hynix Up Over 8%, Samsung Nearly 5% as US Seeks Memory Chip Investment
South Korean stocks opened sharply higher on Aug 18, with the KOSPI up over 3%. SK Hynix surged over 8% and Samsung Electronics rose nearly 5%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.38%. Overnight US indices declined: Dow -0.51%, Nasdaq -0.32%, S&P 500 -0.52%. Optical and memory names rallied, with SanDisk over 8%, Western Digital over 5%, Corning and Micron over 4%, and SK Hynix over 3%. Large tech stocks fell, with Facebook and Microsoft down over 3% and Tesla down 0.87%. The US demand for memory chip investment has thrown uncertainty over Seoul's first US investment project, a key topic at a closed-door meeting on Aug 13, given Samsung and SK Hynix's planned large investments in Korea's Honam region.
On August 18, South Korean stocks surged shortly after the market opened, with the KOSPI rising over 3%. SK Hynix gained over 8%, while Samsung Electronics rose nearly 5%. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.38%. Overnight, the three major US indices closed lower: the Dow fell 0.51%, the Nasdaq fell 0.32%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.52%. Optical communication and memory-related stocks strengthened, with SanDisk up over 8%, Western Digital up over 5%, and Corning and Micron Technology up over 4%. SK Hynix also gained over 3%. Large-cap technology stocks declined collectively, with Facebook and Microsoft down over 3% and Tesla down 0.87%.
The South Korean government had originally planned to announce its first US investment project later this month, but it now faces uncertainty because the US has demanded that South Korea invest in memory chip production facilities. The US demand for memory chip investment was the core topic of a closed-door trade meeting at the South Korean presidential office on August 13. The government initially prioritized the energy sector, but participants believed that investing in memory chip projects in the US is practically difficult, given that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have already committed to large-scale investments in the Honam region of South Korea.