Seoul, February 2, 2026, 00:23 KST — The market has closed.
- Samsung Electronics shares ended the session at 160,500 won, slipping 0.12%.
- January exports from South Korea jumped 33.9%, led by semiconductor shipments that more than doubled, soaring 102.7%.
- Investors are eyeing chip price trends closely, while keeping tabs on how U.S. tariff discussions might cast uncertainty over the market.
When trading in Seoul restarts Monday, all eyes will be on Samsung Electronics shares following South Korea’s sharp January export surge, driven largely by semiconductors—offering a new signal for the world’s top memory chipmaker.
The trade data arrives following a solid rally in chip-related stocks, shining a light on how long AI-driven demand might support memory prices. But there’s a catch: rising chip costs could pressure smartphone and PC makers, even affecting some segments of Samsung’s own operations.
Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw exports climb 33.9% in January, hitting $65.85 billion—well above expectations, government data revealed. Imports rose 11.7% to $57.11 billion. Semiconductor exports surged 102.7%, boosted by rising memory prices and strong demand for AI servers, the trade ministry said. Park Sang-hyun, an analyst at iM Securities, noted the chip rally “should continue for the time being” amid tight supply and climbing prices. But Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan warned of mounting uncertainty, citing U.S. tariff policies and a broader shift toward protectionism. Reuters
Samsung, operating across memory chips and consumer electronics, has issued a cautionary note on the chip boom’s flip side. The company reported a record 20 trillion won in operating profit for the fourth quarter. It warned that a widespread memory shortage is likely to continue, even as rising memory costs put pressure on its mobile and display divisions. Co-CEO TM Roh described the shortage as “unprecedented” in an interview and left open the possibility of price increases. Reuters
The stock closed at 160,500 won on Jan. 30, slipping 0.12% after bouncing between 160,100 and 166,500 won during the session, MarketScreener data showed. Samsung has gained roughly 5.5% over the past five sessions and is up about 33.9% year-to-date, according to the same source.
Demand remains robust, but the cost pressures are mounting. Apple has flagged rising memory prices as a threat to its profits. CEO Tim Cook noted memory pricing is “increasing significantly.” Meanwhile, analysts at IDC and Counterpoint predict global smartphone sales will dip at least 2% in 2026, with the PC market shrinking by 4.9% or more. The tightness comes as chipmakers redirect capacity toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) — the stacked memory powering AI accelerators — squeezing the supply of conventional DRAM that fuels phones and PCs. Reuters
Samsung is making a push to regain footing in HBM, a space where SK Hynix has been leading. According to a source familiar with the situation, Samsung aims to kick off production of its next-gen HBM4 chips next month and will supply them to Nvidia. A Samsung spokesperson, however, declined to comment.
Still, this could change quickly. Any relief in supply bottlenecks, or setbacks in certifying and shipping the latest HBM chips, would undercut pricing power and sour sentiment fast. If chip prices climb too high, demand for phones and PCs could weaken even more — hurting the electronics divisions Samsung aims to shield.
In the coming week, Seoul traders will eye the export figures to see if chip-related stocks get a boost at the open. Tariff news could also begin to weigh on South Korea’s trade forecasts. Another key question: will memory prices continue to rise, or will buyers step back?
Samsung shares restart trading at 9:00 a.m. local time (0000 GMT) on Feb. 2. Investors are sizing up the latest trade figures amid concerns about rising costs and escalating tariff tensions.
