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South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index soared more than 5% at Thursday’s market open, prompting the Korea Exchange (KRX) to temporarily halt program trading after a sharp rally fueled by leading semiconductor stocks. The exchange activated a buy-side sidecar mechanism, suspending program trading for KOSPI-listed shares for five minutes to help stabilize the market following the rapid surge.
The strong gains were driven by impressive performances from South Korea’s major chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Samsung Electronics climbed 4.9%, while SK Hynix surged 9.6% as investor sentiment strengthened after Micron Technology reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and issued an optimistic outlook for future demand.
Micron Technology’s strong financial results reinforced confidence in the global semiconductor industry, particularly in the artificial intelligence (AI) memory chip market. Following the earnings announcement, Micron shares jumped more than 13% in U.S. after-hours trading, creating a positive ripple effect across Asian technology stocks.
SK Hynix also attracted investor attention after announcing plans to raise approximately $29.4 billion through a U.S. stock market listing. The company, a major supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in Nvidia’s AI systems, aims to capitalize on the rapidly expanding demand for AI-related semiconductor technologies.
The market rally helped the KOSPI recover a significant portion of the losses recorded earlier in the week. On Tuesday, the index had fallen nearly 10% amid heavy selling pressure in technology and semiconductor shares, raising concerns about investor confidence.
Thursday’s rebound highlights renewed optimism in South Korea’s stock market, with semiconductor companies once again leading the recovery. As global demand for AI chips continues to accelerate and memory manufacturers report stronger earnings, investors remain focused on the long-term growth prospects of Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and the broader semiconductor sector.
