SK Hynix Shares Drop in Seoul After Much-Hyped US Trading Debut

SK Hynix plunged 15% in Seoul trading Monday, marking its largest single-day decline on record as investor concerns mount that South Korea's AI-driven rally has overextended. The sell-off followed the company's heavily promoted U.S. depositary receipt debut, dampening what had been framed as a milestone for the memory chip maker.

The drop reflects mounting skepticism around valuations in the AI semiconductor space, particularly as SK Hynix shares had surged earlier on expectations tied to high-bandwidth memory demand from artificial intelligence applications. The memory chip manufacturer has been a key supplier of advanced DRAM chips to Nvidia and other AI infrastructure players, fueling its recent stock gains before Monday's reversal.

The timing of the decline—immediately after the U.S. ADR launch—signals potential profit-taking by investors who rode the earlier rally. South Korean tech stocks have been volatile in recent sessions as global semiconductor sentiment shifts on questions about AI capital expenditure sustainability.