Kospi’s No. 2-4 Stocks All Hit Limit Up in First for South Korea

SK Hynix, SK Square and Samsung Electro-Mechanics all hit their daily upper trading limits, an unusual move that sent the Kospi’s second- through fourth-largest stocks by market value to the ceiling at the same time.

The Korea Exchange said SK Hynix entered limit-up territory at 1,717,500 won at about 2:10 p.m. on July 31, up 29.95% from the previous session. SK Square and Samsung Electro-Mechanics had held at their daily limits since early trading. Samsung Electronics, the market’s largest stock by capitalization, was up about 27% at the same time.

It was effectively the first time in South Korea’s stock market that the Kospi’s No. 2 through No. 4 companies by market capitalization all hit their daily upper limits on the same day. Buying centered on semiconductor shares pushed the Kospi above 6,500 intraday, marking the biggest gain on record.

Brokerages expect improving memory-market conditions and expanding investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure to continue supporting SK Hynix’s earnings and share price. Son In-jun, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, maintained a “strong buy” rating on the company and set a target price of 3.7 million won.

Son cited record-high spot DRAM prices and solid demand for server memory as positive factors. “The current tone of semiconductor price negotiations is very firm,” he said. “As AI infrastructure investment expands into a competition among countries, the chances of a slowdown in the memory market are limited.”