SK hynix shares plunge record 15.4% in Seoul after Nasdaq debut

Shares of South Korean chipmaker SK hynix plunged 15.4% in Seoul on Monday, marking their steepest-ever daily decline following the company’s blockbuster Nasdaq debut.

The memory-chip producer recorded its largest one-day fall on record, according to data provider LSEG, as investors took profits after the stock’s sharp gains and assessed the valuation gap between its US- and South Korea-listed shares.

The decline came after SK hynix’s American depositary receipts rose 13% in their first trading session on Nasdaq on Friday, reflecting strong US investor demand for companies exposed to artificial intelligence.

The US offering raised about $26.5 billion, making it the largest US listing by a foreign company and surpassing the $25 billion raised by Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba in 2014.

The transaction also increased the supply of SK hynix shares available to investors, contributing to selling pressure on the company’s domestic stock.

SK hynix has emerged as one of the main beneficiaries of the global AI investment boom through its high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, chips, which are used in AI servers and data centers.

Strong demand for HBM products has supported memory-chip prices and earnings, helping SK hynix overtake Samsung Electronics as South Korea’s most valuable listed company.