The Seoul Stock Exchange opened the week with a heavy session. The Kospi index closed the day down 3.12%, weighed down almost entirely by the collapse of Samsung Electronics. The stock lost 8.70% after an investor remuneration plan was judged disappointing. SK Hynix, by contrast, closed higher, while Nvidia’s results are due on Wednesday—the key event of the week for the global technology sector.
Samsung Drags Down the Kospi and Raises Concerns Across the Technology Sector
The Korean index opened moderately lower before accelerating its decline during the morning. Foreign and institutional investors sold almost 5 trillion won worth of large technology stocks, equivalent to approximately $3.6 billion. Retail investors, however, bought against the trend, absorbing part of the supply, according to Korean stock exchange data. The session was not negative for the entire Kospi. Advancing stocks outnumbered declining stocks, 576 to 286, while the KOSDAQ, the Korean exchange dedicated to smaller technology-oriented companies and home to none of the chip giants, gained 1.42%.
The 110 Trillion Won Plan That Was Not Enough
The catalyst for the session was the plan presented by Samsung Electronics, which trades under ticker 005930. The group announced a program worth 110 trillion won, equivalent to approximately $80 billion and the largest in Korean corporate history. Expectations ahead of the announcement had risen even higher, however, and the market responded by selling the stock. Samsung Electronics closed at approximately $186, down 8.70%, erasing several weeks of gains. An objectively positive piece of news thus became an opportunity to take profits because the price had already priced in higher expectations.
Korean Chips Moving at Two Different Speeds
The session also confirmed the internal divide within Korea’s semiconductor supply chain. SK Hynix (000660) closed in positive territory, moving in the opposite direction from its rival. Since the beginning of 2026, the stock has gained 146.82%, compared with 113.81% for Samsung Electronics and 55.40% for the KOSPI index. The market and the AI sector are rewarding the manufacturer with greater exposure to HBM memory, the high-capacity chips that power data centers. Samsung, by contrast, remains a conglomerate in which memory products coexist with less profitable divisions, and its record plan did not close this perception gap.
Nvidia Completes the Picture on Wednesday
General attention is now focused on Wednesday, August 26, when Nvidia will release its quarterly results. Since the beginning of 2026, the stock has gained 11%, considerably less than the Korean memory suppliers that power its accelerators. The quarterly results will show whether demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure still justifies the record investments announced by the sector. SK Hynix is the American group’s leading HBM memory supplier, so Seoul will react immediately. As Gianluca Grossi recalls in his analysis of the three markets that will determine the future, the quarterly results are also expected to provide details on the plan to offer financial support to customers.
Nvidia: The Weekly Picture After the New Pullback
On the weekly chart, we have a historical overview of Nvidia from the last significant low in April 2025 at $86.62. From that level, a rebound phase began, characterized by a series of higher highs and higher lows, followed in 2026 by a contraction phase with a low in March around $164. A new upward move began from that low, culminating in the May all-time high at $236.54. In the following weeks, upward and downward phases alternated.
Last week, however, Nvidia recorded a decline of 4.64%, following the previous 4.60% rebound. From a technical perspective, the first support lies around $180 if the bullish structure is to remain intact.
