South Korean semiconductor stocks kicked off Friday with a bang, riding high on the wave of booming U.S. tech shares. This surge in the semiconductor market comes amid buzz around potential U.S. interest rate cuts, boosting investor confidence worldwide.
Take SK Hynix Inc., for instance—its shares jumped 4.72% to 321,500 won (about $231) by 9:19 a.m., marking nine straight days of gains since September 2. The stock even touched an all-time high of 325,000 won during trading, topping Thursday’s record. What fueled this? SK Hynix announced it had nailed the development of its next-gen high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) chip before the market opened. As the world’s first to mass-produce this ultra-fast AI memory chip, the company is positioning itself as a leader in artificial intelligence technology.
Samsung Electronics Co. wasn’t far behind, with shares climbing 1.77% to 74,700 won and hitting a 52-week peak of 75,000 won earlier in the day. The broader Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which tracks big U.S. tech players, also notched its sixth consecutive gain overnight, adding to the positive vibe in the global semiconductor sector.
Shifting gears to something a bit more fun, ramyeon stocks—yes, those instant noodle favorites—also saw solid gains early Friday. The boost ties into the massive popularity of Netflix’s animated hit “KPop Demon Hunters (KDH),” sparking global demand for Korean ramyeon.
Samyang Foods Co. shares rose 0.67% to 1.64 million won by 9:30 a.m. Nongshim Co. led the pack with a whopping 12.5% surge to 549,000 won, fresh off launching a collab product with KDH. Ottogi Co. followed suit, up 7.95% to 441,500 won.
Analysts are loving this trend. Korea Investment & Securities’ Kang Eun-ji pointed out that Korean ramyeon exports in the first 10 days of September hit $50.52 million—41.3% of the monthly average from January to August. That’s a 46% year-on-year jump, with shipments to China soaring 165.4% and to the U.S. up 20.1%. “Investor mood is lifting for ramyeon companies, and Nongshim looks especially attractive with its lower valuation risks,” Kang said.
NH Investment & Securities’ Joo Young-hoon added that KDH’s worldwide buzz is driving searches for Korean ramyeon. He highlighted Samyang’s Buldak spicy noodles as a global sensation and bumped up his target price for Samyang Foods to 1.88 million won. “This export momentum should keep rolling,” he predicted.
By the close, SK Hynix shares settled at 328,500 won, a 7% gain from Thursday. Samsung Electronics ended at 75,400 won. On the ramyeon front, Samyang Foods closed at 1,616,000 won, Nongshim at 522,000 won, and Ottogi at 433,000 won.
These moves highlight South Korea’s strong play in both high-tech semiconductors and everyday exports like ramyeon, keeping investors hooked on the Korea stock market action.
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