SEOUL, July 3, 2026, 21:12 KST
- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. KRX:005930 finished the session 8.22% higher at 309,500 won. Shares had dropped 9.06% on Thursday.
- The KOSPI (KRX:KOSPI) finished up 5.76% at 8,088.34. It swung 758.18 points during the day, almost 10% of where it closed on Thursday.
- Samsung and SK Hynix Inc. KRX:000660 drove a 212 trillion won June trade in single-stock leveraged products. That was about 27% of Korea’s ETF turnover for the month, according to .
- Citi’s Peter Lee called Samsung’s drop likely technical and boosted his 2026 operating profit view to 401 trillion won, up from 334 trillion won.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. KRX:005930 bounced sharply Friday. But for some investors, the volatility trade looks cleaner than the chip trade right now.
The stock ended the session at 309,500 won, rising 8.22% by the 3:30 p.m. KST close. Volume came in at 31.5 million shares, topping the 65-day average of 30.6 million. Shares remain 17.4% under the 52-week peak of 374,500 won set June 19.
The Friday bounce wasn’t enough to wipe out Thursday’s hit. Samsung shares are still down roughly 1.6% across two days, after closing Thursday off 9.06% at 286,000 won. SK Hynix dropped about 5.3% over the same span. The KOSPI is down about 2.6%.
| Instrument | Friday close | Friday move | Thursday move | Two-session move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Electronics common | 309,500 won | up 8.22% | down 9.06% | down 1.6% |
| Samsung Electronics preferred | 208,000 won | up 10.23% | n/a | n/a |
| SK Hynix | 2,425,000 won | up 10.88% | down 14.57% | down 5.3% |
| KOSPI | 8,088.34 | up 5.76% | down 7.89% | down 2.6% |
Reuters-calculated based on reported closes and percent changes. Friday’s common and preferred prices are from WSJ and Google Finance. Quotes for Samsung, SK Hynix, and KOSPI for Thursday pulled from TradingKey, and Friday’s KOSPI numbers are from Google Finance.
The focus was on the KOSPI’s range. The index started the day at 7,739.75, dropped to 7,378.10, then hit 8,136.28 before closing at 8,088.34. The intraday gap came to 758.18 points, Seoul Economic Daily said, the second-biggest jump ever after June 23.
| Volatility marker | Latest data |
|---|---|
| KOSPI high-low range in intraday trade, July 3 | 758.18 points |
| KOSPI volatility annualised, first half | 57% |
| Bitcoin volatility annualised, same period | 47% |
| Samsung annualised volatility | 78% |
| SK Hynix annualised volatility | 90% |
| Samsung leverage product, annualised volatility | 156% |
| SK Hynix leverage product, annualised volatility | 180% |
| June value traded in 14 Samsung and SK Hynix leverage products | 212 trillion won |
Leverage matters for Samsung now, since the stock isn’t just a play on DRAM prices, HBM supply or foundry orders. Single-stock leveraged ETFs for Samsung and SK Hynix end up buying more when the stock climbs and selling when it drops, as they adjust to hit leverage targets, Seoul Economic Daily reported. That can push an earnings move into something closer to an index amplifier.
Fabien Yip, market analyst at IG, said “profit-taking appears to be a key driver” after Thursday’s slide, Business Insider reported. Yip noted SK Hynix shares are still up over 200% this year despite the drop. Business Insider
The bull story is still alive. Citigroup’s Lee said Samsung’s slide could just be a technical move. He kept his second-quarter operating profit call at 84 trillion won, almost 18 times last year’s number, with server DRAM prices driving the gain. “We believe memory fundamentals are intact and server DRAM pricing has been outperforming on strong CPU demand,” Lee said. MarketWatch
KB Securities analysts, including Jeff Kim, kept their positive view on SK Hynix. “The upward trend in SK Hynix’s earnings and stock price is far from over,” they said, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The note cited AI-related spending and a memory-chip shortage expected until 2028. MarketWatch
Anthropic shares rose Friday after MarketWatch said the company was talking with Samsung about a deal for custom AI chips. The outlet reported the talks lifted the stock, but there was still no firm contract from either side in the public sources checked.
Samsung Electronics preferred shares (KRX:005935) jumped 10.23% to 208,000 won, moving more than the common stock again. Even after the gain, they’re trading at a 32.8% discount to the common. The gap lets investors play Samsung beta at a cheaper level than the main share.
Samsung will release its Q2 results on July 23, per WSJ data.
