"The 300,000-won and 2 million-won thresholds have fallen" ... Retail investors snap up 1.8 trillion won worth of plunging Samsung Electronics and SK hynix shares

[The Financial News] Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and SK hynix, the two leading semiconductor stocks, plunged sharply on the 8th, breaking key price support levels. The two stocks briefly triggered the KOSPI market's circuit breaker mechanism after falling by around 10% in early trading. They later tried to rebound after trading resumed, but Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. failed to recover the 300,000-won level, while SK hynix could not reclaim the 2 million-won mark by the close.
According to The Korea Herald Business, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. ended the session at 295,500 won, down 33,500 won, or 10.18%, from the previous trading day. At the open, the stock was down as much as 10.94%, but it recovered part of its losses after trading resumed.

At one point during the session, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. rose to 315,500 won and appeared to have regained the 300,000-won level. However, selling pressure returned in the afternoon, pushing the stock back below that threshold at the close.
SK hynix also finished at 1,911,000 won, down 159,000 won, or 7.68%, from the previous session. It rebounded to as high as 2,072,000 won intraday and seemed to have recovered to its previous closing level, but it could not sustain the gains. Still, given that the stock was down 10.34% at the open, its recovery from the initial drop was relatively larger than Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.'s.
The sharp decline also halted the recent three-month rally in AI semiconductors. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. fell 18.03% from its intraday high of 360,500 won on the 2nd, while SK hynix dropped 19.13% from its intraday peak of 2,363,000 won on the 1st.
The sell-off also hit related leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Five 2x leveraged ETFs tied to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and listed late last month fell by as much as about 22% intraday, while two Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. futures-based 2x ETFs dropped by nearly 24% at one point. A 2x ETF linked to SK hynix also plunged by around 20%.
Against this backdrop, retail investors viewed the rout as a buying opportunity and stepped in aggressively. They reportedly bought a net 1.86 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and SK hynix shares combined on the day.
By stock, retail investors bought a net 1.4475 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. shares. Institutions, meanwhile, sold a net 1.0921 trillion won, and foreign investors sold a net 451.2 billion won. For SK hynix, retail investors bought a net 412.6 billion won worth of shares, while foreign investors and institutions sold a net 313.4 billion won and 154.2 billion won, respectively.

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter