SK Hynix claims No. 1 Kospi ranking for first time in 25 years

Samsung Electronics retains lead when preferred shares are included

Foreigners take profits while individuals, institutions net buyers

Semiconductor boom seen driving further gains for both stocks

The Kospi closed at a record high of 9,114.55 on Monday. Shown is the dealing room at Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
The Kospi closed at a record high of 9,114.55 on Monday. Shown is the dealing room at Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

The Kospi closed at a fresh all-time high on Monday, extending its record-breaking run.

According to Korea Exchange, the benchmark index finished the session up 0.69 percent at 9,114.55 — the first time the Kospi has closed above the 9,100 mark.

The index opened down 1.08 percent at 8,954.43 but swung between gains and losses before ending higher. At one point during the session it climbed as high as 9,253.

Individual investors and institutions were net buyers, purchasing 2.15 trillion won (about $1.4 billion) and 303.8 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while foreign investors sold a net 2.55 trillion won as they locked in profits.

SK Hynix was the main driver of the day's gains. The chipmaker's shares surged 5.61 percent to close at 2,919,000 won, lifting its market cap to 2,080.38 trillion won — enough to overtake Samsung Electronics and claim the top spot on the Kospi.

Samsung Electronics fell 0.14 percent to close at 353,500 won, giving it a market cap of 2,066.66 trillion won. The result ends Samsung Electronics' reign as the Kospi's most valuable company — a position it had held for roughly 25 years and seven months. The gap between the two companies stood at about 13.72 trillion won.

Samsung Electronics still leads when its preferred shares are included. Its preferred shares rose 0.90 percent to close at 224,000 won, giving them a market cap of about 179.73 trillion won.

Combined with its common shares, Samsung Electronics' total market cap reaches 2,246.39 trillion won — surpassing SK Hynix by about 166.01 trillion won.

SK Square, the third-largest company by market cap and a 20.5 percent stakeholder in SK Hynix, surged 10.67 percent to close at 1,970,000 won.

Securities analysts say both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix remain undervalued. iM Securities raised its target prices for the two companies Monday to 480,000 won and 3.5 million won, respectively.

Factoring in new employee compensation schemes, iM Securities projected Samsung Electronics' operating profit for this year at 340 trillion won and SK Hynix's at 261 trillion won — representing year-on-year increases of 680 percent and 452 percent, respectively.

"DRAM industry production growth is expected to slow from 25 percent this year to below 20 percent next year, while big tech companies are set to continue investing in data centers," said Song Myeong-seop, a researcher at iM Securities. "Short-term price corrections may follow the recent sharp rally, but the medium-term upward trend for both stocks remains intact, as favorable industry conditions and earnings momentum continue and global liquidity is expected to pick up again in the second quarter of this year."

Elsewhere on the market, Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 1.85 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 5.22 percent, LG Energy Solution declined 4.70 percent and Samsung Life slid 9.36 percent.

The Kosdaq edged up 0.19 percent to close at 968.40. Top-cap stocks including Alteogen, Ecopro BM, Ecopro and Rainbow Robotics finished lower, while Jusung Engineering gained 2.49 percent, Wonik IPS jumped 10.58 percent and HLB rose 5.61 percent.


jiyun@heraldcorp.com