The Nikkei 225 index extended its decline to 1%, now at 61,672.45 points. Kioxia and Advantest are both experiencing significant drops. The Korea Exchange activated the SIDECAR mechanism, halting programmatic sell orders on the KOSPI. On July 29th, the South Korean KOSPI index widened its loss to 4%, with SK Hynix falling nearly 7% and Samsung Electronics dropping over 2%. The Nikkei 225 index's decline expanded to 1%, currently at 61,672.45 points. Kioxia and Advantest are both seeing sharp declines. The Korea Exchange triggered the SIDECAR mechanism, suspending programmatic sell orders on the KOSPI.
In the A-share market, the memory chip concept weakened again in early trading. Gigadevice hit its daily down limit, falling over 58% from its historic high on June 29th. Yake Technology, Wuxi NCE Power, Shenzhen H&T Intelligent Control, Shannon Semiconductor, and Puya Semiconductor all followed the decline.
On the news front, SK Hynix released its earnings report that day. According to consolidated financial statements, the company's operating profit for the second quarter was 60.5426 trillion Korean won (approximately 281.68 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 557.2%, once again setting a new record high. This quarter's operating profit surpassed last year's full-year data (47.2063 trillion Korean won) but fell 4.7% short of the average forecast from securities firms compiled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. During the same period, the company's sales reached 79.3187 trillion Korean won, a year-on-year increase of 256.8%. Net profit was 93.9226 trillion won, a year-on-year surge of 1,242.5%. The company's cumulative sales for the first half of the year reached 131.895 trillion Korean won, breaking the 100 trillion won mark for the first time in a single half-year period.
SK Hynix stated that prices for DRAM and NAND flash chips continued to rise significantly after the previous quarter's increase. The sales growth of high-value-added products such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), AI server DRAM, and enterprise solid-state drives (eSSD) boosted the company's performance. The company indicated that SK Hynix is advancing multi-year contracts with customers to secure stable medium-to-long-term supply. Currently, the company has concluded discussions on Long-Term Agreements (LTA) with more than ten customers, including core clients, and is further negotiating with major players in the industry. This move is expected to significantly enhance the company's operational efficiency and continuously strengthen the foundation for medium-to-long-term business stability and sustainable growth.
During the conference call, SK Hynix stated that it does not expect long-term agreements to lead to an oversupply. It sees no signs of a slowdown in AI investment at present, and AI infrastructure investment is expected to remain robust beyond 2027. The company will solidify its leadership in the HBM field through these long-term agreements.