Kospi plunges 8%, but top investors buy the dip in Hyundai Motor, Samsung, SK Hynix

The Kospi and Kosdaq tumbled more than 8 percent and 9 percent, respectively, on Monday, dragging shares of market heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix below the 300,000-won ($194) and 2 million-won thresholds. Securities analysts urged investors to treat the selloff as a buying opportunity — and data showed the market's top-performing traders were already doing exactly that, snapping up Hyundai Motor, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as prices fell.

The Kospi closed at 7,484.41, down 676.18 points, or 8.29 percent, from the previous session, according to Korea Exchange, breaking below the 8,000 level.

According to Mirae Asset Securities, high-return investors trading on its platform were net buyers of Hyundai Motor, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, in that order, during morning trading Monday. The brokerage defines high-return investors as the top 1 percent of its retail stock-trading customers by investment return over the preceding month.

Hyundai Motor, the top net-purchase pick among those investors, was changing hands at 634,000 won as of 11 a.m. — down 9.43 percent from the previous close — before finishing the session at 639,000 won, a decline of 8.71 percent.

Analysts said the top-tier investors seized on Hyundai Motor as a bargain after the Kospi plunged more than 8 percent at the open and slid as low as the 7,600 level, rattling the broader market.

Sentiment toward Hyundai Motor was also lifted by news that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung at the group's headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Monday to discuss potential cooperation in future mobility and AI.

SK Hynix ranked second in net purchases. The stock was trading at 1,997,000 won as of 11 a.m. — down 3.53 percent — before closing at 1,911,000 won, off 7.68 percent.

SK Hynix shares had climbed to around the 2 million-won mark before retreating, but NH Investment raised its target price on the stock Monday to 3,500,000 won from 2,500,000 won, citing SK Hynix's dominant position in HBM supply and rising memory chip prices as drivers of stronger earnings. That bullish call reinforced the view among top investors that the day's decline was a buying opportunity.

Samsung Electronics, the third-most net-purchased stock, was trading at 307,000 won as of 11 a.m. Monday, down 6.69 percent, before closing at 295,500 won — a drop of 10.18 percent from the previous session.

Even amid the market rout, top-tier investors were actively accumulating Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix at lower prices.

Analysts across the securities industry echoed that view, advising investors to use the pullback as a buying opportunity even as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shed more than 25 percent from their peaks in just four or five trading sessions.

Both stocks set all-time intraday highs on June 2: Samsung Electronics reached 370,000 won and SK Hynix hit 2,407,000 won. On a closing-price basis, Samsung Electronics set its record at 360,500 won on June 2, while SK Hynix peaked at 2,363,000 won on June 1.

Han Dong-hee, an analyst at SK Securities, said in a research note Monday that "the rationale and independence of AI investment relative to the broader macroeconomy remain firmly intact, given the listings of AI companies and capital-raising by hyperscalers." He added that "the structural bottleneck of memory in the AI era, its elevated status, and the strong earnings momentum of memory makers are not values that change in the short term," and maintained target prices of 610,000 won for Samsung Electronics and 4,000,000 won for SK Hynix.

Kim Yong-gu, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Korea, said investors should focus on separating quality earnings plays from weaker ones ahead of the June Federal Open Market Committee meeting, but added that immediately after that, it would be necessary to go all-in again on leading AI semiconductor value-chain stocks — represented by semiconductors, IT hardware, and the shipbuilding-defense-nuclear trio — as genuine growth plays.

Amid the global market selloff, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said "it is an absolute fact that the future of AI is very bright," adding that the downturn had made it possible to buy stocks at cheaper prices.

Huang made the remarks at a joint press conference with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Monday, saying that just as the internet once became the world's infrastructure, "it is a completely foregone conclusion that AI will become the infrastructure of the entire world."

He also said Nvidia already sources "billions of dollars' worth of products from SK Hynix every year, and that figure will grow considerably — really substantially — going forward," adding that "everyone should be very happy about the share price."

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