[Good Morning Stock Market] Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Anticipated in US 'Stargate' Project

On the 22nd (local time), the U.S. stock market in New York closed higher across the board, driven by strong earnings from major companies and investment announcements by U.S. President Donald Trump. Following the announcement that the U.S. will invest $500 billion (720 trillion won) in artificial intelligence (AI) facilities, the domestic semiconductor industry, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, is also expecting positive effects.

On the 21st, Larry Ellison, Chairman of Oracle, Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SoftBank, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attended a press conference with U.S. President Trump.

On the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 130.92 points (0.30%) to close at 44,156.73. The S&P 500 increased by 37.13 points (0.61%) to 6,086.37, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 252.56 points (1.28%) to close at 29,034. The S&P 500 even surpassed its previous high, reaching 6,100.81 during the session.

President Trump announced the launch of a mega AI project named 'Stargate' the day before. The plan involves a joint venture among OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT; Oracle, the world's second-largest software company by revenue; and SoftBank, Japan's largest information technology (IT) company. Following this, Oracle's stock surged 7.17% the previous day and rose more than 11% at one point on the announcement day, showing significant gains. Additionally, investor interest poured into technology partners mentioned, including ARM (15.93%), Microsoft (4.13%), and Nvidia (4.43%).

Netflix announced in its earnings report the previous day that its paid subscriber count surpassed 300 million, boosted by the release of 'Squid Game' Season 2, causing its stock to surge 9.69%. However, the Russell 2000 index, composed of small-cap stocks, fell 0.61% that day, leading to analysis that the New York stock market rally is limited to some big tech stocks related to AI.

In Korea, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are drawing attention due to the Stargate project. Building data centers requires a large number of graphics processing units (GPUs) necessary for AI computations, and this demand is linked to memory demand such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, along with U.S.-based Micron Technology, dominate the global HBM market. If this project gains momentum, expectations are rising that demand for HBM led by Korean companies will also expand. SK Hynix is expected to be the biggest beneficiary as it virtually monopolizes the supply of HBM to Nvidia, a leading company in the AI semiconductor field.

This week, the domestic stock market is expected to be influenced by ▲ the release of President Trump's interview ▲ the World Economic Forum in Davos ▲ earnings announcements from major companies such as SK Hynix and Hyundai Motor.

At 11 a.m. on the day, an interview pre-recorded by President Trump with Fox News will be released. As President Trump's remarks tend to influence the market, comments on tariff policies may emerge in this interview. On the 24th, President Trump's virtual speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos will be in the spotlight. Although climate and AI were key topics at this year's Davos Forum, tariff issues may also be highlighted.

Domestically, earnings announcements from major companies such as SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, and Kia are attracting attention. Considering that the KOSPI showed a steady trend despite earnings shocks from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics earlier, it will be crucial to see whether the market reacts similarly to expectations in these upcoming earnings reports.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, “Starting from the 27th next week, the domestic stock market will enter a long holiday due to the Lunar New Year, while major events such as the Magnificent 7 (M7) earnings announcements and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting are scheduled in the U.S.” She added, “Since these events are likely to influence the global stock market until February, from the latter part of this week, there may be a supply-demand gap caused by caution and a wait-and-see stance ahead of the holiday.”