South Korea’s stock exchange briefly paused program trading on Thursday after the benchmark KOSPI index surged more than 5% at the market open.
The sharp advance was driven by a powerful rally in major semiconductor stocks, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
Korea Exchange Activates Buy-Side Sidecar
The Korea Exchange activated a buy-side sidecar shortly after trading began.
The measure suspended program trading involving KOSPI-listed shares for five minutes. Sidecars are temporary trading controls designed to reduce extreme volatility during unusually sharp market moves.
Regular trading continued after the brief suspension ended.
Samsung and SK Hynix Lead Chip Rally
Samsung Electronics shares climbed 4.9%, while SK Hynix surged 9.6%.
The two semiconductor giants followed strong gains in Micron Technology after the U.S. memory chipmaker released better-than-expected earnings and an upbeat outlook.
Micron shares jumped more than 13% in U.S. after-hours trading, strengthening investor confidence across the global semiconductor sector.
Micron Results Support Memory Chip Stocks
Micron’s earnings and guidance highlighted strong demand for memory chips, particularly from artificial intelligence and data-centre applications.
The positive update boosted expectations that major Asian chipmakers could continue benefiting from rising AI-related investment.
As a result, investors returned to South Korean semiconductor stocks following the heavy losses recorded earlier in the week.
SK Hynix Plans Major US Market Listing
SK Hynix was among the strongest performers on the KOSPI after announcing plans to raise approximately $29.4 billion through a U.S. stock market listing.
The Nvidia supplier aims to take advantage of strong investor demand for companies connected to artificial intelligence.
The proposed listing could also give SK Hynix greater access to international capital as it expands its position in the global memory chip market.
KOSPI Recovers From Earlier Sell-Off
Thursday’s rally allowed the KOSPI to recover a large part of the losses suffered earlier in the week.
The South Korean index had plunged approximately 10% on Tuesday as local semiconductor shares came under intense selling pressure.
The latest rebound showed how quickly investor sentiment improved following Micron’s strong results and renewed optimism surrounding AI-linked chip demand.
