KOSPI Rebounds 4.6% as Nvidia Leadership Shock Sets Next Test

The KOSPI closed at 5,290.53 on the 13th, up 4.56% for the week, yet Nvidia's earnings report on the 17th U.S. time now decides where Korean chip stocks go next. The index had plunged 11.71% the week before on U.S. data center regulation fears. Jensen Huang's resignation as Nvidia chief executive replaced one risk with another.

How the rebound unfolded

The Korea Exchange data shows an uneven recovery. The index slid to 4,990.66 intraday on the 9th, then jumped 4.39% on the 10th — enough to trigger a buy-side sidecar — as oil prices fell on hopes for a diplomatic resolution in the Middle East. It added 2.60% on the 11th.

Sentiment also got help from CoreWeave. The AI cloud provider reported higher third-quarter revenue and raised its annual guidance. The rally then stalled: two straight down sessions on the 12th and 13th, with the index touching 5,504.44 intraday on the 13th before slipping below 5,300.

What changed in fund flows?

Foreign investors sold a net 10.41 trillion won in the first week of November. They turned to net purchases of 460.8 billion won in the second week, while retail investors sold 3.03 trillion won over the same period. The foreign buying was selective:

• Net purchases of 1.23 trillion won in Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), which rose 2.23%.
• Net sales of 1.05 trillion won in SK hynix (000660.KS), which fell 3.80%.

Why Huang's exit matters here

Nvidia announced on the 12th that co-founder Huang had resigned as chief executive and from the board. The move followed allegations that Elise Huang, reported to have had an extramarital relationship with him, was linked to Chinese intelligence services — turning a personal matter into a question of U.S. export controls and national security. Neither espionage nor any leak of Nvidia secrets has been confirmed. Nvidia named CFO Colette Kress interim chief executive and is searching for a permanent successor, according to reports.

The mechanism is straightforward. Nvidia does not just sell GPUs; it invests across the AI ecosystem and works closely with major customers. If the China export negotiations, customer relationships and investment strategy Huang drove were to change, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix could feel the effects. Observers say SK hynix may be relatively more sensitive, given the large share of its high-bandwidth memory output that goes to Nvidia.

What do analysts expect?

The dominant view in the securities industry holds that a chief executive change will not translate directly into cancelled memory orders. Nvidia said it would maintain its product development schedule and customer contracts. Hana Securities said the direct impact on AI chip demand would be limited, since specialized teams handle GPU development and the software ecosystem. Mirae Asset Securities judged that even if orders shift from Nvidia to AMD or custom chips, a sharp drop in HBM demand itself is unlikely. The pace of investment set by new management and the possibility of tighter U.S. export controls on China remain variables.

How cheap is the market?

Investors will read past the numbers on the 17th U.S. time, early on the 18th in Korea, to what the interim chief executive says about next-generation GPU development, customer contracts and AI ecosystem investment. On the 13th, Nvidia shares fell 2% and the Nasdaq declined 0.9% in New York.

Shinyoung Securities puts the KOSPI's 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio at 3.7 times, far below the 10.2-times average of the past decade. That implies prices already reflect a scenario in which corporate net profits more than halve. Actual net profit estimates, by contrast, have risen 16% over the past 60 trading sessions. If Nvidia uncertainty does not cut AI investment, there is room to reverse an excessive decline.

President Lee Jae-myung addressed the correction at a capital market policy meeting at the Korea Exchange on the 13th. "If the mountain is high, the valley is deep. Conversely, if the valley is deep, won't the mountain be high?" he said, reaffirming market normalization as firm government policy. His point: confidence in earnings must support any rebound. Much concern is already priced in, and day-to-day moves matter less now than evidence that AI investment holds.