Shares of South Korean tech behemoth Samsung Electronics soared to a new high Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.
Samsung Electronics closed trading at 117,000 won ($80.92), rising 5,900 won, or 5.31 percent, from the previous session.
After opening at 112,400 won, the stock surged, breaking its previous intraday record of 112,500 won set Tuesday, and extended its rally through the close.
Its crosstown rival SK hynix closed at 599,000 won, up 11,000 won, or 1.87 percent. The stock briefly reclaimed the 600,000-won level, rising as high as 605,000 won before easing.
The broad rally in semiconductor stocks followed a Santa Claus rally on Wall Street overnight. On Wednesday, US stocks closed higher across the board, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 all posting gains, buoyed by growing expectations of a memory semiconductor supercycle next year.
The upbeat projections significantly lifted investor sentiment toward the broader Korean semiconductor industry.
Global investment bank Nomura raised its earnings outlook for Samsung Electronics, forecasting operating profit of 133.4 trillion won next year. Reflecting improved profitability from rising memory chip prices, Nomura also raised its target price to 160,000 won from the 150,000 won previously set in October.
Domestic brokerages are also forecasting gains in chip shares.
“Samsung Electronics’ operating profit will surge nearly 129 percent year-on-year in 2026 to approach 100 trillion won, driven by rising DRAM prices and growing shipments of high-bandwidth memory,” said Kim Dong-won, an analyst at KB Securities, also setting the chip giant’s target price at 160,000 won.
“Samsung’s share of the HBM market will more than double, rising from 16 percent this year to 35 percent next year,” Kim noted.
Supported by gains in heavyweight semiconductor stocks, the benchmark Kospi index also rose. The Kospi wrapped up at 4,129.68, adding 21.06 points or 0.51 percent, from the previous session.
silverstar@heraldcorp.com
