As of about 8:07 a.m. on Oct. 23 in Nextrade premarket trading, SK hynix was changing hands at 1.223 million won, down 1.72% from the previous session. SK Square (402340) traded at 751,000 won, down 2.13%. At the same time, Samsung Electronics (005930) was at 214,500 won, down 3.73%, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150) at 1.145 million won, down 4.72%.
While South Korean tech shares broadly absorbed the fallout from the overnight plunge on Wall Street, SK hynix held up relatively well as uncertainty surrounding the Solidigm listing eased. In a regulatory filing the same day, SK hynix said Solidigm had reviewed various financing options to expand capacity and strengthen competitiveness but decided to halt its review of a pre-IPO and an initial public offering after comprehensively considering capital market conditions.
In a separate statement, the company said, "This is not because Solidigm's growth potential or the need for investment has changed," adding, "It is because we judged that, considering recent capital market conditions and share price movements, it was necessary to reexamine whether an IPO at this time is the most advantageous choice for SK hynix and its existing shareholders."
News that Solidigm was considering a Nasdaq listing had earlier triggered a debate over duplicate listings. Financial authorities also said an overseas listing would not be exempt from duplicate-listing rules. Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won said at a parliamentary National Policy Committee audit the previous day that Solidigm's U.S. listing was "subject to the duplicate-listing guidelines."
On Wall Street overnight, technology stocks tumbled as concerns resurfaced over the funding burden and profitability of expanding AI investment. On Oct. 22 local time, the Nasdaq Composite closed at 26,008.86, down 2.60% from the previous session, its biggest drop since June. The Standard & Poor's 500 also fell 1.21%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.02%.
Fueling the market's unease were Meta's investment and financing plans. Meta reported better-than-expected third-quarter results but said it plans to issue a new class of non-voting shares to secure funds for AI investment. It also raised the low end of its capital expenditure forecast for this year to $135 billion (about 179 trillion won) from $130 billion. Third-quarter free cash flow came in at negative $2.12 billion (about 2.8121 trillion won), the first deficit since its listing, heightening concerns over whether the company can fund massive AI investment from its own cash generation.
Meta shares plunged about 7%, while Nvidia and Micron fell 4.4% and 6.3%, respectively. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 6.7%. Brent crude topping $113 a barrel on heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East also weighed on investor sentiment.
