In brief
The KOSPI dropped 3.01% to 5,831.34 on Thursday morning as Samsung’s third‑quarter results missed expectations, though the company reported a record $105‑trillion‑won operating profit. The dip also followed the sale of shares in LG Energy Solution and a pause in nuclear‑power negotiations in the Czech Republic. With the Fed leaving rates unchanged, investors weighed AI‑driven semiconductor growth against potential market volatility.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.01 percent, closing at 5,831.34 as of 11:20 a.m., after Samsung Electronics released its third‑quarter earnings that fell slightly below analysts’ forecasts for the July‑September period. Despite a record‑setting operating profit, the market reversed earlier gains that had seen the KOSPI climb to 6,100.11 late Thursday.
Opened slightly higher, the KOSPI reflected overnight gains on Wall Street following the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at 3.75‑4 percent, but the market turned lower before 10 a.m. as investors reacted to Samsung’s results. Samsung’s operating profit rose 783.1 percent year‑over‑year to 107.44 trillion won (about US$81.0 billion), a record for the company and the fourth consecutive quarter of record earnings. Net profit, meanwhile, surged 514.6 percent to 75.13 trillion won (US$56.2 billion).
Samsung’s success is largely attributable to its memory business, which supplied high‑bandwidth memory 4 (HBM4) chips that power artificial intelligence (AI) servers. HBM4 is a type of memory that delivers extremely high data transfer rates, enabling AI models to process large datasets more efficiently. Samsung said it had expanded sales of HBM4 chips during the quarter, setting a new record for quarterly performance the second consecutive quarter.
“It appears that our goal of securing an HBM market share equivalent to our overall DRAM market share in the second half of this year was already achieved in the third quarter,” the company said during its earnings call.
Market heavyweights suffered mixed results. Samsung fell 6.61 percent, while chip giant SK hynix edged up 0.4 percent. Battery maker LG Energy Solution dipped 9.76 percent after its parent company LG Chem announced plans to sell 2.5 trillion won worth of shares in the battery subsidiary to boost shareholder value. Shares of construction companies involved in a consortium led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) for a Czech nuclear project also fell sharply. KHNP said it had ended contract negotiations over key terms, prompting Doosan Enerbility shares to plunge 12.21 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction to tumble 21.79 percent.
The Korean won traded at 1,333.5 won to the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., up 8.5 won from the previous closing. The dollar’s relative strength is linked to the Fed’s policy stance and the global energy market, both of which are influencing investor sentiment in Seoul.
Analysts note that the record profit and revenue, driven by AI‑chip demand, underscore the continued resilience of Samsung’s semiconductor operations. However, the downgrade in earnings expectations hinted at a possible softness in the broader market or potential overvaluation of the company’s memory division. Investors now look for signs of sustained AI investment and the impact of global interest‑rate decisions on the technology sector.
In summary, Samsung’s extraordinary profits amid a booming AI market could not prevent a late‑morning sell‑off, as the market digested a combination of earnings that, while record high, fell short of forecasts. The day’s volatility highlights the sensitivity of the Korean market to both domestic earnings data and global macroeconomic signals.
