SK Hynix American depositary receipts declined nearly 8% in early Monday trading as investors locked in profits after the sharp rally in AI-related memory stocks. The shares fell 7.9% to $154.70 following a more than 12% jump on their Nasdaq debut Friday, when they opened at $170 after pricing at $149 and closed at $168.
The drop was steeper in Seoul, where SK Hynix shares tumbled over 15%, their largest one-day decline in nearly two decades. The weakness in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics pulled South Korea’s Kospi index down 9%, triggering a 20-minute trading halt.
The sell-off extended to other U.S. memory and storage companies. Micron Technology dropped 6.4%, SanDisk fell 8.4%, and Western Digital declined 6.8%. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index lost 3.6%.
SK Hynix raised more than $26 billion last week in its U.S. listing. The firm has been a major beneficiary of the artificial intelligence surge through its position in high-bandwidth memory chips used in data centers.
The sharp decline reflects investors reassessing valuations after a rapid rise. Chip stocks have started July weakly amid questions over whether AI capital spending will sustain its pace. South Korea’s push for large chip investments has also sparked concerns that current tight supply could shift to oversupply.
SK Hynix’s CEO has rejected worries about aggressive expansion, stating the memory industry faces its worst shortage in 2027 and that demand may exceed capacity for years ahead. Volatility has increased this year as investors sought AI memory exposure, with some leveraged products amplifying the moves.
