U.S. Market Wrap

Samsung Ships World-First HBM4E Samples; Stock Hits 2026 High as Market Cap Crosses KRW 2,000 Trillion

Samsung Electronics became the first company in the world to ship samples of HBM4E, its seventh-generation high-bandwidth memory, sending shares up 5.84% to a 2018-split high and pushing its market cap above KRW 2,015 trillion for the first time.

Hanwha's KSS-III Docks in Canada as Korea-Germany Showdown Over $42B Submarine Contract Enters Final Stretch

The Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, South Korea's most advanced submarine, arrived at CFB Esquimalt in Victoria, BC on May 23 — the first Korean-built vessel to cross the Pacific — and successfully tested NATO C4I interoperability. The visit anchors Hanwha Ocean's pitch for Canada's $42B Patrol Submarine Project, which pits the KSS-III against Germany's Type 212CD in a contest expected to be decided in late June 2026.

Nvidia N1X Arm Chip Heads to Computex With SK Hynix LPDDR5X Inside, Sealing Korea's Role in the Windows AI PC Era

Nvidia's N1X Arm laptop chip — packing a Blackwell GPU and SK Hynix LPDDR5X memory — will debut at Computex next week, with Microsoft Surface and Dell among first OEMs, opening a lucrative new memory front for Korean suppliers.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (009540.KS) Q1 2026: Operating Profit Surges 58% to ₩1.36T as ₩89T Backlog Anchors Supercycle

Korea's ₩600B AI Growth Fund Sells Out in Four Days as Retail Bets Pile Into Chip Supercycle

Retail investors snapped up South Korea's ₩600 billion ($400 million) National Growth Fund tranche in just four days, signaling surging confidence in the government's 150-trillion-won, five-year push to dominate AI chips, semiconductors, and sovereign technology.

SK Hynix Workers Open 2026 Wage Talks Demanding ₩500M Housing Loans, Mirroring Samsung's Strike-Averting Package

SK hynix union negotiators entering 2026 annual wage talks are demanding ₩500 million housing loans, matching the benefit Samsung Electronics used to avert an 18-day strike. The request adds a new front to the company's annual bargaining season, even as its profit-sharing model is set to deliver an average ₩700 million per worker this year — and as similar demands ripple through Hyundai, Samsung Biologics, Kakao and beyond.

Korea Zinc (010130.KS) Q1 2026: Silver Rally Lifts Profit 175%

Hyundai Motor to Deploy 25,000 Atlas Robots in Its Own Factories as Boston Dynamics IPO Buzz Builds

Hyundai Motor Group unveiled its most detailed robotics roadmap at the JP Morgan conference in Boston, pledging to deploy 25,000+ Boston Dynamics Atlas robots in its own U.S. factories from 2028, making itself the single largest customer of a subsidiary it is simultaneously scaling toward mass production. KB Securities raises price target to ₩1.2 million.

Korea's Record KOSPI Hides a Stark Divide: Samsung + SK Hynix Cross 50% of Index as 82% of Stocks Fall

The KOSPI has surged 90.9% year-to-date, leading global markets — yet 82% of listed Korean stocks fell last month as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix together crossed 50% of total benchmark market cap for the first time, leaving most investors behind the record-breaking headline.

Samsung Trio Buys ₩612.8B Dunamu Stake as Korean Finance Giants Race for Crypto Turf

Samsung Securities, SDS and Card are buying a combined 4% stake in Dunamu — operator of Korea's largest crypto exchange Upbit — for ₩612.8B ($408M), joining Hanwha, Hana, Mirae Asset and Korea Investment in a race for digital-asset turf ahead of Seoul's stablecoin framework.

Hanmi Semiconductor (042700.KS) Q1 2026: Operating Profit Plunges 88% as HBM TC Bonder Orders Stall