Investors anticipate potential AI collaborations as stocks fluctuate ahead of Nvidia CEO's arrival
Category: Business
Jensen Huang (젠슨 황), CEO of Nvidia, is set to visit South Korea on June 5, 2026, stirring both excitement and apprehension among investors. The anticipation surrounding his visit has led to a volatile market, particularly affecting stocks of companies linked to AI and robotics, including LG Electronics, Doosan Robotics, and Naver.
Huang's visit comes at a time when the South Korean stock market is grappling with foreign sell-offs and profit-taking after a recent surge in AI-related stocks. Investors are hoping for announcements that could bolster market confidence.
On June 4, 2026, LG Electronics saw its stock price plummet by 17.43% to 328,000 won, following a brief spike to an all-time high of 438,000 won on June 2, fueled by optimism over Huang's upcoming visit. The drop was attributed to a wave of profit-taking by foreign investors, who sold off 1.83 trillion won worth of LG Electronics shares alone, along with substantial sales of other tech stocks like Naver and SK Telecom.
Alongside LG Electronics, other companies within the LG Group, including LG HelloVision (-13.56%), LG (-7.21%), LG CNS (-6.85%), and LG Innotek (-6.31%), also experienced declines. Doosan Robotics, which had previously surged due to expectations of collaboration with Nvidia, fell by 5.28% to 157,900 won.
Naver, which had enjoyed a 52-week high due to Nvidia collaboration hopes, saw its stock drop by 4.63%. Meanwhile, NCSoft experienced a staggering 14.35% decrease. This downturn came after a period of heightened investor enthusiasm, as many expected Huang's visit to mirror the positive market response seen after his previous meetings with major South Korean business leaders.
Personal investors, undeterred by the recent stock declines, have continued to buy into LG Electronics, purchasing a total of 2.22 trillion won in shares since the beginning of June, making it the second most purchased stock after Samsung Electronics, which saw 5.52 trillion won in purchases. Other notable purchases included Naver (824.6 billion won), LG Innotek (708.1 billion won), and SK Telecom (299.8 billion won).
Conversely, foreign investors have been on a selling spree, offloading 1.06 trillion won of Naver shares, 5.51 trillion won of LG Innotek, and 4.4 trillion won of SK Telecom shares. Analysts attribute this selling pressure to profit-taking following the recent stock surges, as well as broader market concerns stemming from geopolitical tensions and fluctuations in the semiconductor market.
Huang's visit is anticipated to include discussions with key figures such as Chey Tae-won (최태원), Chairman of SK Group, Koo Kwang-mo (구광모), Chairman of LG Group, and Lee Hae-jin (이해진), Chairman of Naver. The agenda is expected to focus on potential collaborations in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), AI data centers, autonomous driving, robotics, and physical AI.
Market analysts believe that Huang's visit could serve as a turning point for companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which have seen their stock prices decline due to external pressures. If Huang articulates concrete plans for collaboration during his visit, it could restore investor confidence and lead to a rebound in stock prices.
On June 4, both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix experienced a decline of over 2% due to foreign sell-offs and the impact of a broader market shock from Broadcom. These companies are currently under scrutiny as investors weigh the potential for Huang's visit to catalyze a recovery in their stock prices.
Huang's visit is not merely a social engagement; it is seen as a strategic opportunity to solidify Nvidia's partnerships with South Korean firms in the rapidly growing AI sector. The tech community is particularly interested in how Huang's discussions will address the current challenges and opportunities within the semiconductor supply chain.
As the market awaits Huang's arrival, analysts are closely monitoring three key factors that will influence stock movements: whether Huang will deliver specific collaboration messages, the stabilization of foreign investor selling, and the broader economic conditions affecting exchange rates and technology stocks in the U.S.
In the lead-up to Huang's visit, the South Korean stock market has shown signs of volatility, with many investors taking a pause to reassess their positions. This period of adjustment is viewed as a necessary step before potentially resuming upward momentum, contingent on the outcomes of Huang's meetings and any announcements made thereafter.
Huang's arrival on June 5 is expected to bring clarity to the market and could provide a much-needed boost to investor sentiment, particularly if he highlights Nvidia's commitment to advancing AI and robotics in collaboration with South Korean companies.
With the anticipation building, the market will follow closely closely to see how Huang's visit will shape the future of AI and technology partnerships in South Korea.