SK Hynix Jumps 25%, Samsung Adds 20% as AI Chip Rally Returns
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- SK Hynix jumped more than 25% in Seoul trading on Friday, on course for its best day on record, while Samsung Electronics rose more than 20% in a broad chip rally across Asia.
- Other Korean and Japanese chip stocks joined the surge: LG Innotek gained 11.2%, Seoul Semiconductor rose 7.8%, Advantest climbed nearly 18%, Disco rose over 13%, Lasertec advanced more than 12%, Tokyo Electron gained almost 9%, and Renesas Electronics added over 10%.
- SoftBank Group, a key AI proxy through its ownership of Arm, jumped more than 9% in Tokyo alongside chip-equipment makers and memory producers.
- The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) surged more than 8% overnight as investors piled back into AI-linked chipmakers following stronger-than-expected cloud results from U.S. tech giants.
- Amazon jumped more than 9% in extended trading after reporting second-quarter revenue that beat analyst expectations, driven by continued strength in its cloud-computing business.
- Microsoft rallied 16% during Thursday's regular session after faster-than-expected Azure cloud growth, with management keeping capital spending "in check," per Ortus Advisors' Andrew Jackson.
- The rally marked a sharp reversal from this week's bruising sell-off that was driven by concerns over lofty AI valuations and signs of intensifying competition from Chinese memory chipmakers.
Why it matters: The Friday rebound underscores how quickly sentiment in chip stocks can pivot on U.S. cloud earnings: a single quarter of stronger-than-expected Azure growth and Amazon cloud revenue erased an entire week of AI-valuation jitters. SK Hynix's 25% surge represents a near-total snapback from the 14% plunge Korean retail investors had absorbed the day before, exposing the extreme volatility of leveraged AI trades across Asian markets.
