Shares of South Korea's leading chipmakers, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, surged more than 20% in Seoul on Friday, following a significant rally in U.S. technology stocks. This sharp rebound was attributed to strong earnings reports from Amazon and Microsoft, which reignited investor optimism about artificial intelligence (AI) spending and infrastructure demand [1]. Other South Korean tech stocks also benefited from the positive sentiment, with LG Innotek advancing 11.2% and Seoul Semiconductor rising 7.8% [1].
The rally marked a dramatic reversal from earlier in the week, when semiconductor stocks experienced a steep sell-off due to concerns about high AI valuations and increasing competition from Chinese memory chipmakers [1]. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) surged more than 8% overnight as investors returned to AI-linked chipmakers, buoyed by the robust cloud results from Amazon and Microsoft [1].
Amazon's stock jumped over 9% in extended trading after it reported second-quarter revenue that exceeded analysts' expectations, driven by continued strength in its cloud-computing business [1]. Microsoft also saw a notable rally, climbing 16% during Thursday's regular session after reporting faster-than-expected growth in its Azure cloud segment, which reinforced confidence in sustained AI infrastructure spending [1].
CONCLUSION
The strong earnings from Amazon and Microsoft have reignited investor confidence in AI-related chipmakers, leading to a sharp rebound in SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and other South Korean tech stocks. The market reaction suggests renewed optimism for AI infrastructure spending, reversing earlier concerns about valuations and competition.