South Korea’s stock market experienced a strong rebound on Friday, driven by a rally in semiconductor stocks after better-than-expected earnings from major US technology firms. Investor confidence in the long-term growth of artificial intelligence infrastructure was renewed, reversing recent declines.
Semiconductor Stocks Lead the Rally
The benchmark Kospi index surged over 18%, reaching its highest level in about a month. SK Hynix Inc. soared by a record 28%, buoyed by a rare direct share purchase by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. Samsung Electronics Co. rose approximately 26%, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics gained nearly 30%. Hyundai Motor also posted strong growth of almost 8%.
The rally helped recover losses from earlier in the week, which had been triggered by concerns over valuations and competition from Chinese memory-chip makers.
Strong US Earnings Restore AI Confidence
Microsoft reported strong growth in its Azure cloud business, and Amazon exceeded expectations in its cloud computing division, reiterating plans to continue investing in AI infrastructure. These results eased fears that enterprise investments in AI might slow down, prompting investors to rebalance toward semiconductor stocks, particularly those supplying high-performance memory chips and AI infrastructure.
Domestic Support Boosts Sentiment
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won purchased 3,620 shares of SK Hynix in the open market, his first direct investment in the company, worth approximately 4.8 billion won (about $3.2 million). The move was seen as a strong signal of confidence in the chipmaker’s long-term prospects.
Additionally, the South Korean government announced plans to allocate nearly $13.9 billion to its sovereign wealth fund for strategic investments in AI, further supporting the sector’s outlook.