Samsung, SK Hynix and Kioxia Stocks Drop After Rally

On July 2 in Asian trading, Kioxia fell to ¥75,160, about 33% below its highest level this year after a roughly 555% year-to-date gain. SK Hynix gapped down to 2,333,000 KRW, its lowest since June 17 and about 22% off its peak; the stock has risen more than 730% over the past 12 months. Samsung dropped to KRW 292,500, roughly 22% below its high after a roughly 350% increase over the last year. Together the three companies erased billions of dollars of market value during the session.

U.S. memory and semiconductor shares also moved lower. The PHLX Semiconductor Index closed at 13,353, about 8.9% below last month’s high. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) fell to $65.85, roughly 19% under its year-to-date peak. Micron retreated about 17% from its July high despite reporting quarterly revenue up more than 300%.

Traders cited profit-taking after steep rallies as one factor in the selloff. Legal developments added pressure: lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California allege some memory suppliers inflated DRAM prices and restricted distribution. The litigation is at an early stage and outcomes remain uncertain.

Industry reports that a major cloud operator may offer spare computing capacity to outside customers also weighed on sentiment. Analysts and investors noted that additional cloud supply could slow near-term demand for new data center buildouts and memory used in AI infrastructure.

Market flows also showed rotation into large-cap technology stocks. Microsoft traded near $384, Meta around $630 and Amazon about $240, all up from recent lows. Shifts in allocations between chipmakers and cloud and software firms coincided with selling pressure in memory names.

Items to watch include upcoming corporate earnings, further developments in the DRAM litigation and any public plans by cloud operators to sell excess capacity.