SK Hynix Surges Past 780,000 Won as KOSPI Hits Intraday Record High of 4,620

The KOSPI index surpassed the 4,620 mark on January 8, setting a new intraday all-time high. SK Hynix, a leading company in the global high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, saw its stock price exceed 780,000 won amid the memory semiconductor boom.

As of 10:43 a.m. on the 8th, the KOSPI index was trading at 4,617.89, up 66.83 points (1.47%) from the previous trading day. During intraday trading, it reached 4,622.32, marking an all-time high. The index had opened at 4,531.46, down 19.60 points (0.43%), but managed to rebound. Foreign investors made a net sale of 68.7 billion won, institutions sold a net 287 billion won, while individual investors made a net purchase of 278.4 billion won.

As the KOSPI reached an intraday all-time high, the status board in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 8th displayed the KOSPI, KRW/USD exchange rate, and KOSDAQ. Photo by Jo Yongjun

Notably, SK Hynix rose 6.20% from the previous trading day to 788,000 won, earning the nickname "780,000-nix." SK Hynix is set to announce its fourth-quarter results from last year at the end of this month. Like other major semiconductor companies such as Micron and Samsung Electronics, record-breaking results are expected. Samsung Electronics, which announced its earnings on this day, was trading at 143,200 won, up 2,200 won (1.56%) from the previous session.

Korea Investment & Securities maintained its "Buy" rating on SK Hynix and raised its target price to 960,000 won, a 37% increase from the previous target. Regarding SK Hynix's fourth-quarter earnings outlook for last year, Korea Investment & Securities researcher Chae Minsook projected, "Revenue will reach 32.6 trillion won, and operating profit will be 17.9 trillion won," adding, "Operating profit is expected to exceed the market consensus by 15%." Accordingly, the operating profit estimate for this year was presented at 128 trillion won, a 58% increase from the previous estimate of 81 trillion won.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index stood at 946.42, down 0.97 points (0.10%) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ had opened at 950.71, up 3.32 points (0.35%), but turned slightly negative. Foreign investors made a net sale of 110.8 billion won, while institutions and individual investors made net purchases of 20.4 billion won and 91.9 billion won, respectively.