'AI Demand Reaffirmed' Drives Samsung, SK hynix Rally as KOSPI Recaptures 6,800 Mark

Strong Performance by U.S. Server and Cloud Companies
Concerns Over Semiconductor Peak-Out Weaken
Expectations for Improved Foreign Investment Inflows

As Samsung Electronics and SK hynix surged, the KOSPI index recaptured the 6,800 mark during trading. This was due to U.S. server and cloud companies' earnings, which reaffirmed both the sustained momentum of global artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment and a continued memory chip supply shortage. Analysts expect this to attract further value-seeking foreign investment in semiconductor stocks and support the continued rally of leading shares.

On the 13th, the KOSPI index started the session at 6773.92, up 194.88 points from the previous trading day. The domestic stock market status was displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

On August 13, the KOSPI opened at 6,773.92, up 2.96% from the previous trading day, and was trading at 6,830.53 as of 9:50 a.m., up 3.82%. At the same time, the KOSDAQ was trading at 866.20, up 0.85%. Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix rose by 3.82% and 7.25%, respectively.

Overnight, the New York stock market closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 53,770.27, down 21.58 points (-0.04%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rose 20.30 points (0.26%) to close at 7,748.50, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 26,588.49, up 143.04 points (0.54%).

However, optimism surrounding the AI boom was reignited by strong earnings from AI infrastructure-related stocks. AI cloud provider CoreWeave raised its annual guidance, leading its share price to jump by 19.28%. Its order backlog reached $104.2 billion, an increase of about $5 billion in just three months. Server manufacturer Super Micro Computer also saw its share price rise by 19.02% as its next fiscal year's revenue outlook exceeded Wall Street expectations and margins improved. Among AI leaders, Nvidia rose 3.03%, memory chip maker Micron Technology climbed 4.92%, and SK hynix American Depositary Receipts (ADR) advanced 9.01%.

Daishin Securities projected that the stock prices of Korean semiconductor companies would quickly normalize through value realization. They cited as key factors early shareholder returns, structural strengthening through long-term agreements (LTA), a robust supply-demand environment for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server DRAM. The annual shareholder return funds for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are estimated to reach at least 150 trillion won and 80 trillion won, respectively. In addition, more than 20% in advance payments for LTA contracts and the establishment of upper and lower price limits have mitigated downside risks. Furthermore, even with Nvidia's adjustment to 'Rubin' specifications, there will be no significant changes to the size of the HBM market or to pricing and volume due to the strengthening of packaging capabilities. Server DRAM demand next year is projected to grow by over 50% year-on-year, supporting continued mid- to long-term momentum.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Concerns about inflation and AI demand will provide continued momentum for a rebound among leading stocks such as semiconductors, and favorable developments from the U.S. will spread positive sentiment to other sectors as well." Han also noted that "it is noteworthy that net foreign selling pressure is easing compared to before."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.