South Korea's KOSPI climbed 1.61% to 5,145.81 on Monday, reclaiming the 5,100 level as investors bought beaten-down semiconductor names following last week's sharp selloff. Samsung Electronics rose 3.29% and SK Hynix advanced 4.51%, while foreign investors remained cautious with net selling of 469.3 billion won by late morning.
The recovery followed a strong rebound in US chip shares on Friday, when the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 4.21% after a 12.25% plunge the prior session. AMD jumped 11.04%, Nvidia added 2.78% and Micron Technology rose 5.12%. On Monday, Micron stock added about 6% and SanDisk advanced 7% after TSMC played down reports that it was exploring 3-D DRAM production at Nvidia's request.
TSMC said it does not comment on market rumors and remains focused on logic chips rather than memory. That eased concerns about new competition, although Jefferies analysts have suggested TSMC could enter the memory market by 2035. Broader pressure remains from Chinese producers: Counterpoint Research showed SanDisk's global NAND revenue share fell to 11% in Q2 2026 from 13% in the previous quarter, while YMTC rose to 14%.
Analysts remain bullish on SanDisk, with an average 12-month price target of $2,110.63 and a Bernstein buy rating with a $3,000 target. However, Korean strategists warned that persistent foreign outflows and uncertainty over US inflation data could keep volatility elevated. Tuesday's US October CPI report and earnings from CoreWeave and Applied Materials are expected to shape the next move.
South Korean authorities offered some support through a three-month waiver of the 140% collateral ratio requirement on margin loans, designed to prevent forced share sales from accelerating declines.
