could this be the cause ? <A HREF="http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/030424/eu_hynix_chips_1.html" target="_new">http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/030424/eu_hynix_chips_1.html</A> as korea mkt is very concentrated in just a handful of companies. i believe samsung alone account for over 50% of the mktcap.