Analysis

Japanese and South Korean stock markets turned from gains to losses. SK Hynix, Kioxia, and SoftBank fell across the board, while Samsung alone bucked the trend to rise.

TradingKey - During the Asian trading session on July 6, Ahn Cheol-soo, a lawmaker from the People Power Party and former presidential candidate, posted publicly on social media, referring to the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) as a "casino" and calling for strong measures, including delisting, against leveraged ETFs that track Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

TradingKey - Benefiting from Samsung Electronics' upcoming Q2 earnings release on July 7, the company's shares extended their rally during early trading on July 6 in the Korean market. The stock touched a high of 325,000 KRW, rising over 4% from its previous close of 309,500 KRW, indicating that capital continues to bet on the earnings elasticity driven by demand for AI memory. Previously, Samsung's stock price had plummeted alongside the semiconductor sector amid sharp volatility in Korean tech stocks, but it quickly recovered, stimulated by rising memory prices, AI orders, and news of potential foundry collaborations.

Japanese and South Korean stock markets surged at the open. The KOSPI Index jumped 2.71%, with Samsung Electronics surging over 4%, while Kioxia and SK Hynix followed the upward trend. SoftBank fell 2%.

TradingKey - On June 29, during a national report meeting at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung made an announcement that officially ignited the largest expansion engine in the history of South Korea's semiconductor industry. This trillion-won chip investment plan led by South Korea is both a bold bet on computing power demand in the AI era and an important turning point in the reshaping of the global semiconductor industry landscape.

TradingKey - Samsung Electronics is currently conducting third-quarter DRAM price negotiations with downstream customers, aiming to raise the average selling price (ASP) by up to 20% compared to the previous quarter. Among the products, low-power DRAM (LPDDR), which faces supply bottlenecks in both the server and mobile segments, is expected to see price increases even exceeding 20%.

TradingKey - On July 3, Seoul time, South Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Koo Yun-cheol, announced that the South Korean government will promote major enterprises to invest over 312 trillion won (approximately $204 billion) in the southeastern Yeongnam region, focusing on the development of advanced industries such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and aerospace. On the same day, the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) also announced its national space strategy in Jinju: to establish a low-Earth orbit satellite communication network consisting of hundreds of satellites by 2035, and to achieve a moon landing by 2030.

TradingKey - During the Asian trading session on July 3, the South Korean stock market staged a major rebound after falling nearly 10% over the previous two trading days. As of the close, the South Korean KOSPI Index surged 5.76% to end at 8,088.33 points; Samsung Electronics closed up 8.22%, and SK Hynix closed up 10.88%. Behind the stock price rebound were two pieces of industry news: rising chip prices and falling substrate prices. Between these price increases and cost reductions, the memory giants fully demonstrated their pricing power across the upstream and downstream supply chain.

Japanese and South Korean stock markets staged a sharp V-shaped recovery. The KOSPI Index surged over 5%, while SK Hynix skyrocketed nearly 11%, Kioxia jumped over 9%, and Samsung Electronics surged over 8%. SoftBank was the sole decliner.

TradingKey - During the Asian trading session on July 3, global memory chip giant Kioxia announced that it has officially begun sampling its 10th-generation BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory products to customers. Featuring a 332-layer stacked architecture, this 1Tb TLC chip directly targets the explosive demand for high-capacity, low-power storage in AI data centers, marking a new phase in the "memory war" surrounding AI infrastructure.

TradingKey - Against the backdrop of increasingly fierce competition in the global new energy vehicle market, Chinese automaker BYD is reclaiming its position from Tesla (TSLA) as the global leader in pure electric vehicle sales by accelerating its expansion into overseas markets.

TradingKey — During the Asian trading session on July 1, SoftBank announced that it had completed an additional $10 billion investment in OpenAI through its Vision Fund 2. This marks the second installment of its previously announced $30 billion follow-on investment plan. According to the plan, the final investment of $10 billion is scheduled to be completed on October 1.

Japanese and South Korean stock markets rallied in tandem, with the Nikkei 225 Index reclaiming the 70,000-point mark. Samsung Electronics surged over 4%, while SK Hynix, SoftBank, and Kioxia followed suit.

TradingKey - During the Asian session on June 30, the Taiwan stock market marked its final trading day of the first half of 2026. The Weighted Index closed up 1,126.01 points, or 2.5%, at 46,125.91 points on Tuesday. For the first half of the year, the index recorded a cumulative gain of nearly 60%, starting from 28,963 points at the end of last year.

The KOSPI and Nikkei 225 both opened higher, led by gains in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, with SoftBank and Kioxia also tracking higher.

Samsung Group announced a larger-than-expected 2,655 trillion won investment plan, with its stock price poised to rebound and reach new highs.

TradingKey - On June 29, following the official announcement of a new round of semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) industry development strategies by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, Samsung Electronics announced after-hours a massive long-term investment plan of up to 2,655 trillion Korean won (KRW). This marks the largest investment in the history of South Korea's AI and semiconductor strategy. The investment will focus on key areas including AI semiconductors, advanced memory chips, AI data centers, advanced packaging, new wafer fabs, displays, and batteries. This move demonstrates South Korea's attempt to leverage the synergy between corporate capital expenditure and national industrial policy to further consolidate its core position in the global chip supply chain.

Delays in OpenAI's IPO and its financial losses continue to weigh on SoftBank's stock price, which plunged below 6,000 yen today and may test the 4,800–5,000 yen range.

TradingKey - On June 29, the latest reports indicate that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will officially unveil a new national development strategy today, covering semiconductors, AI data centers, and the robotics industry. Samsung Group and SK Group are expected to announce an investment blueprint at the meeting, with a total scale of up to 2,000 trillion won (approximately $1.3 trillion) over the next decade. The plan will focus on advanced memory chips, HBM, high-end wafer fabrication, advanced packaging, and AI infrastructure construction. These initiatives will also receive supporting government assistance in power, water resources, transportation, and talent cultivation.

The KOSPI and Nikkei 225 indices continued to pull back, as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, SoftBank, and Kioxia fell across the board.