Shares of South Korea's memory-chip leaders climbed sharply following a session of heavy losses, as bargain hunters targeted artificial-intelligence related equities that had been sold off.
SK Hynix led the rebound, surging 10.6% on Tuesday after having fallen 8% in the prior session. The company's rise also reflected a newly announced major partnership with Nvidia on Monday, under which SK Hynix will supply advanced memory to the AI-focused chipmaker in a multi-year arrangement.
Samsung Electronics also rebounded, rising 5.4% after a 10.2% tumble on Monday.
The gains by Samsung and SK Hynix contributed to a sharp move in Korea's benchmark market; the KOSPI index surged 8% on Monday following steep losses in the session before that.
Both firms had been hit in a broader selloff across technology and AI-linked stocks. The sector-wide weakness was prompted by investor concerns over higher U.S. interest rates and a deterioration in the conflict in the Middle East, which together encouraged profit-taking among previously high-flying names.
Market participants also flagged doubts about the durability of AI-driven growth after underwhelming guidance from American server maker Broadcom last week. The company is widely watched as an indicator of data-center demand, and its guidance raised questions about the near-term outlook for the AI infrastructure that supports advanced chips.
Earlier optimism had pushed Samsung and SK Hynix to lofty valuations in May, when both firms reached trillion-dollar market caps on expectations of a surge in AI-related chip demand. Along with Micron, the two are among the only major producers of advanced memory chips used in AI applications, a position that generated substantial gains over the past year as AI data-center buildouts accelerated demand for advanced memory.
Those rapid gains left the large chip names vulnerable to profit-taking over the past week, and recent market moves have reflected the tension between renewed buyer interest and persistent macro and geopolitical worries.
Market context
- SK Hynix rose 10.6% on Tuesday after an 8% drop the prior session and after announcing a multi-year supply partnership with Nvidia.
- Samsung Electronics advanced 5.4% after falling 10.2% in the previous trading session.
- The KOSPI index recorded an 8% surge on Monday following sharp losses in the session before that.