South Korea stocks fall despite Samsung’s record earnings

Yellow Samsung smartphone displayed on a gray surface with its box and quick start guide. Photo: Andrey Matveev/Pexels

South Korea’s main stock index closed lower on October 8, even though Samsung Electronics posted a record profit for the quarter. The Kospi slipped 2.62% to 6,625.93, wiping out earlier advances as foreign and institutional investors together sold shares worth roughly 2.7 trillion won in a single session.

The decline started after the market opened near its recent highs, with the index briefly testing the 6,800 level before turning down. By mid-afternoon, program-driven selling linked to monthly options expirations accelerated, pushing the benchmark toward its intraday trough of 6,620. The Kosdaq, which lists smaller firms, also fell 0.69% to end at 892.27.

Samsung’s third-quarter operating profit reached 107.4 trillion won, the highest in the company’s history, yet the figure could not keep the rally alive. Its shares dropped 2.42% to 262,000 won after briefly touching 270,000 won early in trading. Analysts pointed to the conclusion of Samsung’s share buyback programme and profit-taking by investors as primary factors behind the pullback.

Foreign investors were the main drivers of the sell-off, dumping about 1.56 trillion won more than they bought, with a particular focus on semiconductor and auto-chemical equities. Institutional participants, including hedge funds and mutual funds, added net sales of roughly 1.16 trillion won, deepening the downward pressure. In contrast, retail traders remained net buyers, accumulating around 2.68 trillion won, but their activity was far outweighed by the combined outflows of the larger groups.

Other heavyweight stocks moved lower as well. SK Hynix, the world’s leading memory-chip producer, slipped 2.44% to 1.68 million won despite solid demand for its high-bandwidth memory and an ongoing share-repurchase plan. LG Energy Solution and POSCO Holdings, both linked to electric-vehicle battery production, fell 2.85% and 2.12% respectively, as worries about long-term demand and supply-chain challenges resurfaced.

Hyundai Motor and Kia, which have benefited from a weaker won, still lost ground amid concerns that sales growth could be slowing. Hyundai declined 1.95% to 226,000 won, while Kia dropped 1.75% to 101,000 won. Even defensive names such as Samsung Biologics and high-dividend financial stocks saw modest losses.

On the Kosdaq, AltusGen – the market’s largest company by market value – plunged 6.23%, while engineering firm JuSeong Engineering posted gains. The won steadied against the dollar, closing at 1,338.5 per dollar, down just 1.9 from the previous day’s close. Traders observed that foreign equity sales usually push the currency lower, yet this time expectations of stronger corporate earnings and stable export data limited the won’s decline.

Market analysts forecast that the Kospi will likely hover around the 6,600 mark in the near term, provided liquidity stabilises. Key variables include whether foreign selling eases below the 1 trillion won daily threshold, whether the won remains near the 1,330 level, and how U.S. technology stocks react after their earnings season. Samsung’s buyback programme has ended, while SK Hynix’s continues until mid-November, creating uneven support within the semiconductor segment.