China's CXMT Listing Shakes Chip Stocks, Highlights SK's Undervaluation

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an "AI-based customized news recommendation and summarization service" developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.

1. Unstoppable CXMT Fallout... Shaking SK hynix and Micron Shares

- Key Summary: Chinese DRAM maker CXMT surged 466% on its first day of listing on the 27th, recording a market capitalization of 3.3 trillion yuan (about 701 trillion won). As a result of this fallout, the Nasdaq 100 index fell about 10% from its June 2 peak, and the KOSPI slid about 40% in a month. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) assessed CXMT's rise as evidence that China is entering the global technology mainstream. Meanwhile, the U.K.'s Financial Times (FT) analyzed that despite SK hynix's 50% plunge over the past five weeks, its current share price is undervalued at less than three times its price-to-earnings ratio (PER) against expected earnings two years out.

2. Samsung: "Q3 HBM4 Sales to Triple... Memory Shortage to Deepen Further"

- Key Summary: Samsung Electronics recorded consolidated second-quarter revenue of 171.4995 trillion won and operating profit of 89.4924 trillion won, setting a new record for the highest earnings among global tech companies, surpassing Nvidia and Apple. The semiconductor (DS) division accounted for 99.7% of total profit, and second-quarter revenue exceeded 100 trillion won for the first time on the back of expanded HBM supply. Kim Jae-jun, head of strategic marketing at Samsung Electronics' Memory Business Division, said that third-quarter HBM4 sales would increase more than threefold from the previous quarter. In contrast, the Device eXperience (DX) division, including mobile and TV, recorded its first operating loss since its integration in 2021 due to the impact of chipflation (a surge in semiconductor prices).

3. "There Is No Magic Wand to Tame Prices"... Warsh Leaves 'Fight With Inflation' to the Market

- Key Summary: The U.S. Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate at 3.50–3.75% on the 29th. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh acknowledged that market rates had already crossed a psychological line of defense but said there is no "magic wand" to resolve inflation within days or weeks. At this Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, three members—Lorie Logan, Beth Hammack, and Neel Kashkari—dissented, calling for a rate hike. On news of the rate hold, bonds, stocks, and the value of the dollar fell together while international gold prices rebounded, roiling financial markets.

4. Forced Sales Hit Three-Week High... 'Leveraged Investment' Alert After Two Days of Sharp Declines

- Key Summary: As the domestic stock market plunged amid circuit breakers triggered for two consecutive days, the volume of forced sales recorded 61.1 billion won, its highest level in three weeks. This means that cases of securities firms forcibly disposing of investors' stocks due to declining collateral values are increasing. The balance of credit trading loans stood at 32.995 trillion won, down from the record high of 38.6328 trillion won recorded on the 24th of last month but still maintaining a high level. The securities industry is concerned about a vicious cycle in which an increase in forced sales volume leads to further stock price declines and chain reactions of forced sales.

5. Global High Rates Loom While Authorities Further Increase Interest Burden

- Key Summary: On the U.S. Fed's hawkish rate hold, the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield exceeded 5.2% per year, recording its highest level in 19 years since July 2007. Long-term government bond yields in the U.K. and Japan also rose together, approaching 5% and 4%, respectively. Amid this, lending rate increase burdens are growing, with KB Kookmin Bank raising household loan rates by up to 0.5 percentage points due to financial authorities' total household loan volume regulations. FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won appeared before the National Assembly's National Policy Committee and said, "The insulation of real estate from finance is my conviction," expressing his stance to maintain the total volume regulation policy.

6. Hynix Freed From Disclosure Shackles, Will It Play the Shareholder Return Card?

- Key Summary: SK hynix has been confirmed unable to announce specific shareholder return measures until the 4th of next month due to its prospectus delivery obligation stemming from its U.S. American Depositary Receipt (ADR) listing. SK hynix shares closed at 1,322,000 won on this day, down 5.64% from the previous day, and have fallen 50.11% over the past month. Unlike competitor Micron, which disclosed specific long-term contract volumes and advance payments in its earnings announcement, SK hynix drew market criticism for expressing only a general stance on shareholder returns. Eight of 16 domestic securities firms lowered their target prices, with the average target price tallied at 3.22 million won.