US stocks: The three major indexes open slightly higher; SK hynix rises nearly 3%
Source: Securities Times People's Finance News, August 11: The three major US stock indexes opened slightly higher. The Dow rose 0.22%, the S&P 500 gained 0.13%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.23%. Nvidia rose nearly 2%, and SK hynix rose nearly 3%.
South Korean Won Slightly Strengthens Tuesday, Driven by SK hynix’s ADR Listing and Dollar Selling
Driven by SK hynix’s dollar-selling operations following its listing in the U.S., the won against the U.S. dollar rose slightly on Tuesday. As of 3:30 p.m. local time, the exchange rate stood at 1 U.S. dollar to 1,415.9 won, up 2.5 won from the previous trading day’s close, reaching the strongest level since October 2 of last year. The South Korean won opened at 1,415.9 and later climbed as high as 1,412.2 in the afternoon. Analysts believe that the recent rebound in the won was driven by a large inflow of U.S. dollar funds: SK hynix converted the proceeds from its U.S. depository receipts (ADRs) fundraising into the local currency. Earlier last month, SK hynix raised approximately 40 trillion won (equivalent to $28.2 billion) through the issuance of ADRs on Nasdaq, with most of the funds planned for investments in South Korea.
“The importance of stock trading exceeds 60%.” We talked with Korean retail investors
Original headline: “The importance of stock trading exceeds 60%.” We talked with Korean retail investors In the summer of 2026, South Korea is scorching yet cold. It’s called scorching because the Korea Meteorological Administration reported that the southeastern city of Yangsan measured a high temperature of 42.5°C, setting the highest temperature ever recorded in South Korea since the 20th century. It’s called cold because South Korea’s stock market is full of slaughter. Maybe you’ve heard about the recent turbulence in the South Korean stock market, but chances are you don’t know how brutal this summer turned out to be. This year, South Korea’s composite stock price index, KOSPI, has triggered circuit breakers 10 times. A circuit breaker is a mechanism that pauses trading for a period when price fluctuations during trading hours reach a certain target range. In the decades before that, KOSPI had only triggered circuit breakers 6 times.
Morning Finance Briefing: Trump says the U.S. military has “100% control” of the Strait of Hormuz; investigation underway into the reasons for the failure to launch the Zhongxing 4B satellite丨August 11, 2026
【Major Headline】 Could a valuation-recovery rally in tech stocks be on the way? Don’t miss the next wave—open an account and follow up>> 【Market Update】 Trump says the U.S. military has “100% control” of the Strait of Hormuz On August 10 local time, U.S. President Trump said that the U.S. has completed mine clearance across the entire Strait of Hormuz, and that the U.S. Navy now has “100%” control over this critical shipping lane. Trump also said that the Strait of Hormuz “is now open.” Iran may occasionally lay mines, but the U.S. military will clear them.
In a frenzy! SK Hynix’s China business is being auctioned off—what domestic funds and strategic players are stepping in?
Source: Career In (PEVC) Recently, according to sources, SK Hynix, one of the world’s leading storage-chip manufacturers, is exploring multiple development options for its semiconductor assets in Chongqing. These options include bringing in external investors to accelerate the growth of related business lines. As soon as the news became public, it quickly drew sustained and high attention from the semiconductor industry chain and the capital markets. As the core semiconductor business unit of the Korean SK Group, SK Hynix is the world’s second-largest storage-chip manufacturer. It mainly produces DRAM, NAND flash memory, and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) products, and it is also one of Nvidia’s most important HBM chip suppliers. Occupying a key position in the global AI computing supply chain, the company has long maintained the No. 1 spot in the global HBM market share thanks to its early technological advantages, with its products widely supplied to AI servers and large-scale model training clusters. Benefiting from the explosive demand for AI computing power, the company’s performance has seen breakthrough growth over the past two years. However, expectations in the capital markets have continued to diverge, and the stock price has shown sharp volatility. Since the peak of the current phase, SK Hynix’s biggest drawdown in the Korean stock has been significant. There have been multiple instances of highly turbulent intraday trading. The market continues to weigh multiple factors, including the persistence of the memory cycle, changes in HBM orders, and capital expenditure plans. Every time the company adjusts its global capacity and assets, it is viewed as an important signal for judging the direction of the industry.
SK hynix: DRAM and NAND profitability is expected to continue through 2H26 Xing·Research
Huaxing Securities “Xing·Research” has compiled highlights from research notes by Huaxing Securities Research Institute from last week, helping you fully understand the economic trends at home and abroad and dig into热点 in sub-sectors. SK hynix (000660 KS) DRAM and NAND profitability is expected to continue through 2H26 2Q26 revenue and net profit met expectations. In 2Q26, DRAM and HBM remain SK hynix’s core profit engines. According to SK hynix’s 2Q26 earnings call, the company achieved revenue of KRW 79.32 trillion, up 257% year-on-year and up 51% quarter-on-quarter. Operating profit was KRW 60.54 trillion, up 557% year-on-year and up 61% quarter-on-quarter, with an operating margin as high as 76%. Net profit was KRW 93.92 trillion, up 1242% year-on-year and up 133% quarter-on-quarter. The results included a one-off investment gain of approximately KRW 62 trillion from the sale of shares in Kioxia. Excluding this, recurring net profit was approximately KRW 32 trillion, still significantly exceeding expectations. With AI accelerating from large-model training toward agentic AI, the continued rigid demand for real-time inference on long-term memory continues to boost DRAM and NAND demand. We believe SK hynix, as a global leading memory supplier, will directly benefit. Meanwhile, as AI applications gradually roll out in smartphones and PCs, demand for traditional end devices is also expected to recover.
Korean stock market opens strong but closes weak; SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics both finish lower
Source: China Business Network China Economic Net reporter Zhang Manyou, Beijing report On August 10, the South Korean stock market once again saw a “strong open but weak close” session. In the early trading hours, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose to a high of 6,394.06 points. However, the advance could not be sustained. By the close, the KOSPI inched up 0.65%. In terms of heavyweight stocks, the two memory-chip giants both opened higher and closed lower. SK Hynix slipped 0.14%, while Samsung Electronics edged down 0.43%. According to an analysis reported earlier by Xinhua News Agency, this year, the South Korean stock market surged rapidly driven by concepts related to artificial intelligence and semiconductors, but then underwent a sharp pullback. Many retail investors chased hot technology stocks using margin trading and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with high leverage. After the market suddenly turned, the situation triggered forced liquidations, leading to further declines in share prices and持续 amplifying market volatility.
Apple knocks on CXMT’s door—what impact will it have on Samsung and SK hynix?
Source: Wall Street Insight Apple has been reported to be testing the use of China’s CXMT memory chips in the iPhone and MacBook, with the aim of being first to apply them to devices sold in the Chinese market. CEO Tim Cook compared the current memory shortage to a “once-in-a-century big flood,” and explicitly called for increasing the number of suppliers. Analysts believe the short-term impact will be limited, but Apple’s endorsement could become an opportunity for CXMT’s long-term rise. Apple is looking for a way out of the shortage of memory chips, and the door it has knocked on is prompting the entire industry to reassess its leverage. According to a report by the China Economic Information Service citing the Wall Street Journal, on August 9, Apple is testing memory chips from CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies) in product lines such as the iPhone and MacBook to alleviate memory shortages triggered by the AI boom. The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said that Apple has held preliminary discussions with CXMT, China’s largest chip manufacturer, regarding the supply of components, with the goal of using these chips in some devices sold in China.