SK Hynix, stock price breaks 1.3 million won... Semiconductor large-cap stocks' rally spreads

SK Hynix’s stock price first broke through 1.3 million won during intraday trading on April 27, 2026, then closed at 1.29M won, again highlighting the strong momentum of the domestic semiconductor large-cap stocks.

On that day, in the securities market, SK Hynix rose 5.73% compared to the previous trading day, closing at 1.29M won. The stock opened at 1.25M won and the gain widened, reaching as high as 1.32M won. This was the first time the stock broke through the 1.3 million won mark intraday. During this process, the stock also surpassed the previous intraday high of 1.27M won and the record for the highest closing price of 1.23M won set on the 23rd. Market analysis suggests that expectations for a recovery in the memory semiconductor industry and the expansion of demand related to artificial intelligence drove the stock price higher.

Samsung Electronics also rose 2.28% that day, closing at 224.5k won, matching the highest closing price of the year—set on the 23rd. The simultaneous rise of these two semiconductor stocks, representing the Korean stock market, can be seen as a sign of renewed investor confidence in the industry as a whole, rather than just positive factors for individual companies. Semiconductors constitute a large portion of Korea’s market capitalization, so the strong performance of these stocks also significantly influences the overall trend of the KOSPI index.

This trend is rooted in the strong performance of U.S. tech stocks. On the last trading day of last week (the 24th), the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the New York Stock Exchange fell 0.16%, but the S&P 500 rose 0.80%, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.63%. Notably, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 4.32%. Market analysts point out that the expansion of the artificial intelligence industry is expected to boost demand for central processing units (CPUs), and the positive quarterly results of Intel have also boosted market expectations for the entire semiconductor sector. After overseas semiconductor stocks led the rally, buying interest often flows into related domestic stocks, a pattern that frequently occurs.

In terms of supply and demand, foreign investors and institutional buyers also supported the rally. On that day, foreign investors net bought 12k trillion won in the securities market, institutions net bought 13.91k trillion won, while individual investors net sold 25.24k trillion won. Narrowing the scope to the electrical and electronic industry, foreign investors and institutions showed buying advantages of 1.9092 trillion won and 1.4318 trillion won, respectively, while individual investors showed a selling advantage of 3.2837 trillion won. Generally, when foreign investors and institutions concentrate their buying on large semiconductor stocks, the index and representative stocks tend to move upward in tandem.

Whether this trend will continue may depend on the sentiment of U.S. tech stocks, the pace of expansion in artificial intelligence investments, and whether foreign capital continues to flow in. However, given the recent rapid rise in stock prices in the short term, it will become increasingly important to see if actual performance improvements can be confirmed during subsequent upward movements.