Latest news with #HyundaiMotorSecurities
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Korea Herald
Kospi soars to over 3-yr high on foreign buying spree, eased tariff uncertainties
South Korea's stock market surpassed the 2,900-point mark for the first time in over three years Wednesday, extending its winning streak to a sixth day, thanks to continued foreign inflow and progress in trade talks between the world's two biggest economies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 35.19 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 2,907.04, marking the highest level since January 14, 2022, when the index closed at 2,921.92. Trade volume was heavy at 383.5 million shares worth 12.3 trillion won ($9 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 600 to 281. Foreign investors continued their purchases of local shares for a sixth consecutive session. "The Kospi breached the 2,900-point mark on upbeat momentum created by favorable US-China trade negotiations and foreign investors' continued purchase of big-cap shares," Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, said. High-level officials from Washington and Beijing held trade talks in London for two days through Tuesday, where they agreed on a framework to carry out measures to resolve their trade disputes on rare earths and technology. Kim Jae-seung, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities, said expectations on the Lee Jae-myung government's policy to boost the local stock market also improved market sentiment. Lee, who took office last week, has pledged to usher in the 5,000-point era and get rid of the so-called Korea discount, which refers to investors' tendency undervalue South Korean assets due to geopolitical risks or other issues. Overnight, Wall Street also closed higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.25 percent, the S&P 500 adding 0.55 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gaining 0.63 percent. In Seoul, tech behemoth Samsung Electronics increased 1.18 percent to 59,900 won, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 4.12 percent to 240,000 won. Top automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 2.03 percent to 201,000 won, while its sister Kia advanced 2.54 percent to 96,900 won. Hyundai Motor's auto-parts making affiliate, Hyundai Mobis, soared 4.91 percent to 288,500 won. Major nuclear power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility also surged 6.46 percent to 51,100 won, and Kakao, the operator of the country's dominant mobile messenger, went up 2.8 percent to 51,400 won. On the other hand, some of the big-cap defense and shipbuilding shares lost ground as investors sought to gain profit following their rally the previous day. Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace lost 3.31 percent to 905,000 won, and leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy dropped 2.11 percent to 418,000 won. Major financial firms also went down, with KB Financial dipping 3.34 percent to 107,200 won and Shinhan Financial losing 1.81 percent to 59,800 won. The local currency was trading at 1,375.0 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 10.7 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
Zawya
08-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Samsung sees Q1 profit beating estimates as looming tariffs spur chip, phone sales
SEOUL - Samsung Electronics on Tuesday flagged a much smaller-than-feared 0.2% fall in first-quarter operating profit, boosted by solid memory chip sales and strong smartphone demand, partly driven by customers concerned about U.S. tariffs. Sales of conventional memory chips used in consumer devices such as smartphones and AI chips likely came in better than expected, with some customers stockpiling chips ahead of potential U.S. tariffs on semiconductors, analysts said. The world's largest memory chipmaker estimated an operating profit of 6.6 trillion won ($4.49 billion) for the January-March period, well above a 5.1 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate. That would compare with 6.61 trillion won in the same period a year earlier and 6.49 trillion won in the preceding quarter. "While general memory prices dipped, strong demand from customers looking to secure inventory ahead of potential U.S. tariffs helped boost Samsung's memory chip shipments, supporting overall performance," said Greg Roh, head of research at Hyundai Motor Securities. Shares of Samsung rose 2.6% in morning trade following its preliminary earnings, outperforming a 1.6% rise in the benchmark KOSPI. Samsung, reshuffling its top ranks following the sudden death of co-CEO Han Jong-Hee last month, is expected to release detailed results on April 30. SECOND QUARTER SEEN WEAKER Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a slew of reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, including China. While semiconductors were exempted from reciprocal tariffs, Trump on Thursday reiterated plans to levy tariffs on chips very soon. Roh said Samsung's AI features in the Galaxy S25 smartphone models helped drive strong sales, adding that preemptive smartphone shipments by North American customers ahead of the tariffs likely contributed to first-quarter results. Samsung Electronics in January unveiled its newest Galaxy S25 smartphones, hoping their upgraded AI features could reinvigorate sales and fend off Apple and Chinese rivals. As a result of buyers stocking up in the first quarter, analysts said shipments are likely to decline in the second quarter. Kim Sun-woo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities, said Samsung's second-quarter operating profit could stagnate also due to delays in securing new customers for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. Analysts estimated that Samsung's chip division profit might have halved to about 800 billion won in the first quarter from a year earlier, as losses in the foundry business likely offset profits from the memory chip business. The foundry business involves making chips on a contract basis for customers such as Nvidia, Qualcomm and AMD. Samsung in January warned of sluggish sales of its AI chips in the first quarter due to U.S. export restrictions to China, Samsung's top market. Samsung's chairman, Jay Y. Lee, was among executives who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at China's annual conference late March. At a shareholder meeting in March, Samsung executives apologised for the company's poor share price stemming from its late response to the booming AI chip market. They expected chip earnings to recover in the second half on demand for smartphones and data centers, and as it aims to start supplying its improved HBM3E 12-high chips to Nvidia in the middle of this year. South Korea's SK Hynix the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, said last month some customers have brought forward orders in preparation for new U.S. tariffs, but was wary of counting on a sustained demand recovery. Micron Technology in March forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, signalling strong demand for its HBM chips used in AI models. ($1 = 1,468.6000 won) (Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Sonali Paul) Reuters
Asharq Al-Awsat
08-04-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Samsung Sees Q1 Profit Beating Estimates as Looming Tariffs Spur Chip, Phone Sales
Samsung Electronics on Tuesday flagged a much smaller-than-feared 0.2% fall in first-quarter operating profit, boosted by solid memory chip sales and strong smartphone demand, partly driven by customers concerned about US tariffs. Sales of conventional memory chips used in consumer devices such as smartphones and AI chips likely came in better than expected, with some customers stockpiling chips ahead of potential US tariffs on semiconductors, analysts said. The world's largest memory chipmaker estimated an operating profit of 6.6 trillion won ($4.49 billion) for the January-March period, well above a 5.1 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate. That would compare with 6.61 trillion won in the same period a year earlier and 6.49 trillion won in the preceding quarter. "While general memory prices dipped, strong demand from customers looking to secure inventory ahead of potential US tariffs helped boost Samsung's memory chip shipments, supporting overall performance," said Greg Roh, head of research at Hyundai Motor Securities. Shares of Samsung rose 2.6% in morning trade following its preliminary earnings, outperforming a 1.6% rise in the benchmark KOSPI. Samsung, reshuffling its top ranks following the sudden death of co-CEO Han Jong-Hee last month, is expected to release detailed results on April 30. SECOND QUARTER SEEN WEAKER Last week, US President Donald Trump announced a slew of reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, including China. While semiconductors were exempted from reciprocal tariffs, Trump on Thursday reiterated plans to levy tariffs on chips very soon. Roh said Samsung's AI features in the Galaxy S25 smartphone models helped drive strong sales, adding that preemptive smartphone shipments by North American customers ahead of the tariffs likely contributed to first-quarter results. Samsung Electronics in January unveiled its newest Galaxy S25 smartphones, hoping their upgraded AI features could reinvigorate sales and fend off Apple and Chinese rivals. As a result of buyers stocking up in the first quarter, analysts said shipments are likely to decline in the second quarter. Kim Sun-woo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities, said Samsung's second-quarter operating profit could stagnate also due to delays in securing new customers for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. Analysts estimated that Samsung's chip division profit might have halved to about 800 billion won in the first quarter from a year earlier, as losses in the foundry business likely offset profits from the memory chip business. The foundry business involves making chips on a contract basis for customers such as Nvidia, Qualcomm and AMD. Samsung in January warned of sluggish sales of its AI chips in the first quarter due to US export restrictions to China, Samsung's top market. Samsung's chairman, Jay Y. Lee, was among executives who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at China's annual conference late March. At a shareholder meeting in March, Samsung executives apologized for the company's poor share price stemming from its late response to the booming AI chip market. They expected chip earnings to recover in the second half on demand for smartphones and data centers, and as it aims to start supplying its improved HBM3E 12-high chips to Nvidia in the middle of this year. South Korea's SK Hynix the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, said last month some customers have brought forward orders in preparation for new US tariffs, but was wary of counting on a sustained demand recovery. Micron Technology in March forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, signaling strong demand for its HBM chips used in AI models.
