Micron Soars 19%, Samsung and SK hynix Surge... KOSPI Breaks 8,400 for the First Time

Samsung Electronics' Market Cap Surpasses 2,000 Trillion Won Including Preferred Shares

SK hynix Joins the 1 Trillion Dollar Club with Market Cap Exceeding 1,600 Trillion Won

Bullish Market Expected to Continue amid Super-Boom in Memory Semi

On the 27th, when the KOSPI index surpassed 8400 points during the session triggering a buy-side car, the current status of the domestic stock market was displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room at the headquarters of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. 2026.5.27 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

As Samsung Electronics and SK hynix continued to hit record highs, the KOSPI index surpassed 8,400 points for the first time in history. On this day, the market capitalization of Samsung Electronics, including preferred shares, exceeded 2,000 trillion won for the first time, while SK hynix surpassed 1,600 trillion won, joining the $1 trillion club for the first time. There is an outlook that the KOSPI bull market will continue, driven by the super-boom in the memory semiconductor market.

Samsung Electronics Surpasses 2,000 Trillion Won in Market Cap Including Preferred Shares

On May 27, the KOSPI opened at 8,242.12, up 2.42% from the previous trading day, and expanded its gains to trade at 8,351.15, up 3.77% as of 10:17 a.m. During early trading, the KOSPI rose as high as 8,450.26, surpassing the 8,400-point mark for the first time. After closing above 8,000 points for the first time the previous day, the index soared more than 400 points in just one day. Due to the sharp rise, a buy-sidecar was triggered at around 9:25 a.m. The KOSDAQ opened up 0.11% at 1,173.80 but reversed to trade down 0.68% at 1,164.52.

The Korean stock market was also influenced by the Nasdaq in the United States, which hit an all-time high overnight. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.19% to a record high. The S&P 500 climbed 0.61%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 5.5%, both hitting new highs as well.

The standout performer in the U.S. market was Micron. Bolstered by global investment bank UBS raising Micron's target price threefold, its share price surged 19.3%, and its market capitalization surpassed $1 trillion for the first time. UBS raised its target price for Micron dramatically, from $535 to $1,625, citing improved earnings stability due to long-term agreement (LTA) contracts in the memory semiconductor sector.

Micron's rally also led to sharp increases in other memory semiconductor companies, including Western Digital (up 8.34%) and SanDisk (up 7.50%). Suh Sangyoung, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, analyzed, "UBS's aggressive upward revision of Micron's target price triggered a surge in memory semiconductor stocks in the New York market."

As Micron—a competitor—soared, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix also set new record highs. As of 10 a.m., Samsung Electronics was trading at 318,000 won, up 6.35% from the previous trading day. The market capitalization of Samsung Electronics reached 1,860 trillion won, and when including its preferred shares (157 trillion won), it surpassed 2,000 trillion won for the first time. Samsung Electronics now accounts for 29% of the total KOSPI market capitalization of 6,888 trillion won.

As of 10:07 a.m., SK hynix was trading at 2,245,000 won, up 9.41% from the previous trading day. The market capitalization of SK hynix surpassed 1,600 trillion won, making it the second company in Korea after Samsung Electronics to join the "$1 trillion club."

Bull Market Expected to Continue Amid Memory Semiconductor Super-Boom

On this day, leveraged ETFs tracking individual stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix that are listed on the stock exchange also soared. As of 10:15 a.m., KODEX SK hynix Single Stock Leverage ETF was up 18.25% at 27,700 won, and KODEX Samsung Electronics Single Stock Leverage ETF was up 11.39% at 24,100 won. Among the top KOSPI companies by market capitalization, SK Square (up 9.06%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (up 3.18%), Samsung Life Insurance (up 4.74%), Samsung C&T (up 4.44%), and Hanwha Aerospace (up 2.96%) were also strong performers.

The securities industry expects continued earnings improvement for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, projecting further share price increases. Mirae Asset Securities raised its target price for Samsung Electronics by 14.6%, from 480,000 won to 550,000 won, and for SK hynix by 18.8%, from 3,200,000 won to 3,800,000 won.

Kim Younggun, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, emphasized, "Based on the current share price, the 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio (PER) is 5.7 times for Samsung Electronics and 5.6 times for SK hynix, which is still much lower than competitors such as Micron (6.2 times) or Kioxia (10.1 times). This means there is significant room for a valuation re-rating."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.