SK hynix briefly overtook Samsung Electronics as South Korea's most valuable listed company in intraday trading Monday, challenging Samsung's long-held dominance of the stock market for the first time in nearly 26 years.
Shares of SK hynix rose as much as 6.5 percent to a record 2.95 million won ($1,900), lifting its market capitalization to 208.1 trillion won. That surpassed Samsung Electronics' market value of 207.3 trillion won by about 8.6 trillion won at the session high.
As of 1 p.m., SK hynix was trading at 2.92 million won, up 5.5 percent, while Samsung Electronics gained 0.4 percent to 355,250 won.
Samsung first became Korea's most valuable listed company in July 1999 and has held the No. 1 position since November 2000, when it overtook Korea Telecom, now KT Corp.
The shift reflects investors' growing preference for companies seen as direct beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom. SK hynix, the leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips used in Nvidia's AI accelerators, has emerged as one of the market's biggest winners.
SK hynix shares have surged 341.9 percent this year, compared with a 197.7 percent gain for Samsung Electronics.
The stock has also drawn support from expectations that the company could pursue a US American depositary receipt listing. Analysts say a Nasdaq debut could broaden its investor base and help close the valuation gap with overseas peers such as Micron Technology.
Hanwha Investment & Securities analyst Park Jun-young recently raised his target price for SK hynix to 4.3 million won, citing stronger earnings visibility and the company's leadership in the memory market.
Park said Korean memory chip-makers are beginning to shed their longstanding valuation discount as long-term supply agreements and surging demand for high-bandwidth memory improve earnings visibility.
"An ADR listing would give SK hynix a chance to be valued alongside comparable companies in the US market," he said.
He added that SK hynix's technology lead and valuation appeal could make a US listing another catalyst for a further rerating of the stock.
yeeun@heraldcorp.com