Kospi surges 7% as SK Hynix earnings fuel AI stock rebound
South Korean chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics saw significant stock gains following strong earnings reports driven by high demand for AI memory chips. The rally has boosted broader markets, including the Kospi index, despite ongoing investor concerns regarding AI infrastructure costs.
Why it matters
The performance of these chipmakers serves as a key indicator for the health of the global AI hardware supply chain and investor sentiment toward the tech sector.
SK Hynix climbed 11%, while Samsung Electronics jumped 9%. The rally has extended to U.S. premarket trading, where Micron Technology (MU) and SanDisk (SNDK) both gained 4%.
The gains build on a recovery in the AI sector over the past few days, following weeks of pressure as investors questioned the AI infrastructure buildout.
SK Hynix reported September-quarter operating profit of 83.3 trillion won ($62.5 billion), a sevenfold increase that exceeded analyst forecasts by more than 7%, Bloomberg reported .
The memory chipmaker also announced plans to return another 60 trillion won ($45 billion), through buybacks and dividends during the remainder of the fiscal year.
SK Hynix said conventional and high-bandwidth memory capacity is sold out through 2029, with shortages expected to persist through at least 2030, according to Bloomberg.
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