Samsung Electronics' stock price has fallen below ₩60,000 for the first time in 17 months, despite the strong performance of U.S. semiconductor stocks. As South Korea’s largest market-cap stock struggles, the KOSPI index failed to break above 2,600, closing in the 2,500 range. Meanwhile, the U.S. stock market hit record highs, boosted by tech stock gains and falling oil prices.
According to the Korea Exchange on October 10, Samsung Electronics closed at ₩58,900, down 2.32%, marking its lowest level since March 16, 2023 (₩59,900) and setting a new 52-week low. The ongoing impact of weak earnings has driven the stock down by over 11% in the past month. Analysts expect continued poor performance in Q4, leading to a wave of target price downgrades.
Samsung’s decline also weighed on the broader market, limiting the KOSPI’s gains. While other semiconductor stocks like SK Hynix (+4.89%) and Hanmi Semiconductor (+3.07%) surged, the KOSPI managed only a 0.19% increase, closing at 2,599.16.
The Korean stock market has remained sluggish since the global sell-off on August 5. According to the Bank of Korea’s latest international finance and foreign exchange report, foreign investors sold $5.57 billion worth of South Korean stocks in September, marking the largest outflow since May 2021 (-$8.23 billion). The sharp increase in stock outflows also turned South Korea’s overall securities investment (stocks + bonds) into net outflows for the first time since October 2023.
U.S. Stocks Hit New Highs as Semiconductor Sector Strengthens
In contrast, the New York Stock Exchange set new record highs:
Dow Jones: +1.03% to 42,512.00
S&P 500: +0.71% to 5,792.04 (44th all-time high this year)
Nasdaq: +0.60% to 18,291.62
The semiconductor sector soared, fueled by TSMC’s stronger-than-expected September sales.
ASML: +2.63%
ARM: +3.36%
Qualcomm: +2.33%
Falling oil prices also boosted market sentiment. WTI crude oil for November delivery fell 0.45% to $73.24 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Meanwhile, the release of the September U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes introduced some uncertainty regarding future interest rate cuts, but the market largely shrugged it off. The minutes revealed that several Fed officials supported a ‘small cut’ (0.25 percentage points), contradicting earlier reports that only one official, Michelle Bowman, had backed a cut.
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