SK Hynix Falls 15 % After Record U.S. Listing While Remaining Up 160 % for the Year

SK Hynix shares fell 15% to 1.845 million won on Monday in Seoul trading after the company began trading under the ticker SKHY following its $26.5 billion U.S. listing on Friday. The listing was the largest share sale by a foreign company.

The company's ADRs dropped nearly 9% in premarket trading to $153.50. The broader KOSPI fell as much as 9% and triggered a 20-minute market-wide trading halt before closing nearly 9% lower. The index's decline from its June highs exceeded 20%.

Samsung shares fell 10%, while SanDisk and Western Digital each dropped 7% and Micron fell 5.6%. Nasdaq futures fell around 1%. Foreign investors net sold $1.13 billion in SK Hynix shares and local institutional investors net sold $1.5 billion, according to Goldman analyst Christopher Cha.

Program trading accounted for $1.18 billion of the foreign net outflows. In the broader tech sector, foreigners net sold $129 million and local institutions net sold $564 million, while retail investors bought $730 million. SK Hynix shares are down 15.6% on the day and 37% since the June 22 high, though they remain 160% higher than at the start of the year, UBS analyst Simon Penn wrote.

The 50-day moving average at 2.158 million won failed to hold, with the stock breaking below the 2.0 million won support level. UBS analyst Justinus Steinhorst noted continued weakness in AI-related stocks, with the basket down 1.4%, and said ASML earnings on Wednesday will be the most important catalyst for the AI trade this week.