South Korean chip shares surge after Micron flags strong AI-related demand

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SEOUL, June 25 : South Korean semiconductor shares rallied on Thursday after U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology's quarterly results and forecast beat expectations, boosting optimism over sustained demand for AI-related chips.

Shares of SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics rose as much as 11.6 per cent and 6.2 per cent, respectively, in early trade, tracking a rally in U.S. chip stocks after Micron's earnings and outlook reinforced confidence in the memory sector.

The rally also followed SK Hynix's announcement on Wednesday of plans to raise up to 45.45 trillion won ($29.52 billion) through a secondary listing on Nasdaq, as it seeks to capitalise on strong investor appetite for AI stocks.

The benchmark KOSPI, in which Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together account for more than 55 per cent of market capitalisation, was trading up 5.3 per cent as of 0019 GMT.

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Micron, a key supplier for Nvidia's AI processors alongside South Korean chip makers, forecast quarterly profit and revenue well above expectations on Wednesday and said its customers had committed $22 billion to lock in supplies of memory chips, sending its shares surging 12 per cent in after-hours trading.

The upbeat outlook lifted shares of U.S.-listed chipmakers late on Wednesday, with more than $400 billion added in market value after the strong forecasts from Micron and Qualcomm breathed fresh life into Wall Street's recently waning AI stock rally.

Micron's forecast - and third-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates - underscore how AI-driven shortages are forcing its large-scale data center customers to fund capacity, reshaping the memory market.($1 = 1,539.6600 won)

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