[Market Highlight] STI Jumps 9% on Power Semiconductor Equipment Orders

STI shares surged on December 9. Strong buying interest was driven by orders for power semiconductor manufacturing equipment and positive earnings forecasts from securities firms related to these developments.

As of 10:40 a.m. on this day, STI was trading at 29,300 won, up 2,550 won (9.53%) from the previous trading day. During intraday trading, the price climbed as high as 30,200 won, marking a new record high.

On the previous day, just before the regular market close, semiconductor front-end equipment company STI announced that it had signed a contract to supply power semiconductor manufacturing equipment worth 97.8 billion won to its Chinese joint venture, Nova Tech Semiconductor (NTS).

In response, Daol Investment & Securities named STI as its top pick among materials, components, and equipment (so-called "SoBuJang") stocks. The firm maintained its "Buy" rating and raised its target price from 38,000 won to 43,000 won.

This new equipment order is scheduled to be supplied to the joint venture NTS, which was announced as an investment on June 18. The joint venture was established together with China's TCOT (which produces SiC modules, IGBT, etc.) and plans to manufacture heat dissipation substrates for power semiconductors used in electric vehicles, data centers, and renewable energy applications.

Ko Youngmin, a researcher at Daol Investment & Securities, stated, "This is STI's first entry into the new process equipment market for power semiconductors," adding, "It serves as a reference that could lead to expansion to major global clients in the future." He also commented, "It is positive that, based on policy support in China, there is a large-scale performance momentum expected to continue through a second round of orders in 2027."