On October 12, South Korean stocks opened lower and fluctuated in a downward trend. As of press time, the KOSPI index had widened its decline to 1%. SK Hynix fell more than 2%, while Samsung Electronics dropped nearly 1%. Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.

On the news front, ASML has reportedly notified Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix that it will uniformly raise prices for EUV and DUV lithography machine components sold to the South Korean market by 10%, covering consumable parts as well as core components such as optical systems and light sources. The price increases are expected to take effect from January 2027. At the same time, ASML is in negotiations with major customers regarding price hikes for new equipment. Semiconductor equipment makers such as Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron have also initiated price adjustments to cope with rising cost pressures. As AI data center construction drives expansion of memory and wafer foundry capacity, demand for equipment and components is growing. However, supplier capacity expansion takes time, and bargaining power in the equipment supply chain is shifting upstream.

In addition, South Korean stocks have suffered a massive capital outflow. Exchange aggregate data shows that foreign funds have withdrawn $131 billion from South Korean equities so far this year, the largest among major Asian markets. The combined 55 trillion won (approximately $41 billion) share buyback program by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix is nearing completion, further intensifying pressure on buying support. South Korea's Ministry of Finance stated that, against the backdrop of elevated global yields, it will introduce market stabilization measures if necessary.