SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) - South Korean stocks opened Monday slightly below Friday’s close as a fresh oil spike and a Goldman Sachs cut to its KOSPI target weighed on sentiment.
But SK hynix climbed two days before its quarterly earnings, while Samsung Electronics slipped.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.47 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,538.83 in early trade.
Foreign investors were net buyers of 61.0 billion won ($46.1 million), but decliners outnumbered gainers 594 to 186, the tech-heavy secondary KOSDAQ lost 1.4 percent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9 percent.
SK hynix rose 0.8 percent to 1,287,000 won ($972.27), adding to Friday’s 4.4 percent jump.
Samsung Electronics fell 0.5 percent to 214,500 won ($162.05).
The two memory makers report third-quarter results back to back, SK hynix on Wednesday and Samsung on Thursday.
The results are a test of whether record chip profits can steady a market that strategists say has been hit by doubts over the payoff from artificial intelligence spending.
Goldman Sachs cut its 12-month KOSPI target to 9,000 from 12,000 in a note dated Sunday, after the main index in Seoul fell more than 35 percent from its June peak.
The bank said the new target still implies more than 60 percent upside, arguing the market “is pricing an overly negative fundamental outlook.”
On Wall Street on Friday, the Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) fell 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq 0.2 percent after reports that the U.S. and Israel were weighing renewed strikes on Iran.
Those reports sent Brent crude up 3.1 percent to $116.72 a barrel, its highest since April 29.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hovered near 5 percent.
West Texas Intermediate crude eased 1.1 percent to $102.15 a barrel in Asian trade.
Losses spread beyond chips. LG Energy Solution fell 1.7 percent to 376,500 won ($284.43), and Hyundai Motor dropped 1.4 percent to 291,500 won ($220.22).
The KOSDAQ shed 10.69 points to 741.0, extending Friday’s 1.6 percent fall.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 564.17 points, or 0.9 percent, to 62,129.0.
The Korean won traded at 1,323.7 per dollar, 2.3 won stronger than the previous session.
AJP Takeaways
- SK hynix rose 0.8 percent and Samsung Electronics fell 0.5 percent at the KOSPI open on October 26, 2026, with SK hynix extending a rebound ahead of its third-quarter results on October 28.
- Goldman Sachs cut its 12-month target for South Korea’s KOSPI to 9,000 from 12,000 but still sees more than 60 percent upside.
- Oil and U.S.-Iran tension set the tone across Seoul and Tokyo as both stock markets opened lower on October 26, 2026.
Tags: SK hynix, Samsung Electronics, Goldman Sachs, KOSPI, KOSDAQ, Nikkei 225, LG Energy Solution, Hyundai Motor, S&P 500, Brent crude, West Texas Intermediate, U.S. Treasury yield
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