Market capitalization of top 10 conglomerates falls by 1,101 trillion won this month; SK down 30%

[Financial News] As the KOSPI plunged this month, the market capitalization of South Korea’s 10 largest conglomerates fell by more than 1,100 trillion won. Weakness in semiconductor and shipbuilding stocks drove especially steep declines at SK, HD Hyundai and Samsung.
According to the Korea Exchange and FnGuide on the 25th, the 10 groups had a combined market capitalization of 3,371.441 trillion won as of the 23rd. That was down about 1,101 trillion won from 4,472.5308 trillion won at the end of last month. All 10 groups saw their market capitalizations shrink as the KOSPI fell 18.8% this month.
SK Group recorded the largest decline. Its market capitalization fell 30.1%, from about 1,563 trillion won at the end of last month to 1,093 trillion won. Amid concerns over the profitability of the artificial intelligence (AI) value chain, shares of SK hynix and SK Square fell 28.1% and 32.0%, respectively. The two companies’ market capitalizations declined by about 365 trillion won and 48 trillion won, respectively.
HD Hyundai Group’s market capitalization fell 25.6%, from about 128 trillion won to 95 trillion won. As concerns that the shipbuilding industry had passed its peak weighed on the sector, the market capitalizations of HD Hyundai and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell by about 32% and 30%, respectively.
Samsung Group’s market capitalization fell 24.3%, from about 2,161 trillion won to 1,636 trillion won. The decline was largely due to Samsung Electronics’ market capitalization falling 19.6% amid weakness in semiconductor stocks.
Hanwha Group’s market capitalization contracted 19.3%, from about 120 trillion won to 97 trillion won. Hanwha Engine fell 34.2%, Hanwha Ocean about 30%, and Hanwha Aerospace 21.4%. Concerns about exporters’ earnings amid the strengthening won, among other factors, weighed on share prices.
LG Group saw a relatively modest decline of 5.3%, from about 190 trillion won to 180 trillion won. Expectations for demand for energy storage systems (ESS) amid the expansion of AI data centers in the United States helped LG Energy Solution shares rise 7.3% this month.
The market capitalization declines at the other groups were about 15% for Hyundai Motor, about 13% for GS, about 12% for Shinsegae, 6.4% for POSCO and 4.3% for Lotte.
[email protected] Lee Jeong-hwa Reporter