South Korean chip stocks rallied on Tuesday as renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence lifted investor sentiment, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix leading gains following Anthropic’s public IPO filing.
At the time of writing, Samsung shares rose more than 4.2%, while SK Hynix gained over 4%. The Kospi jumped 3.4%, marking its biggest daily gain since February.
However, the rebound comes after a bruising October for the benchmark, which remained on track for a monthly decline of around 17%.
The two memory-chip giants together account for nearly half of the Kospi’s market value, making their performance particularly important for the broader Korean market.
Anthropic IPO lifts AI trade
The immediate catalyst for the recovery was Anthropic’s highly anticipated IPO filing, made public on Monday ahead of the US market opening.
The filing offered investors a closer look at the financial position of the company behind the Claude AI models, renewing interest in the sector after concerns over AI financing and returns triggered a sell-off.
US technology stocks advanced following the announcement, with the Nasdaq Composite rising around 1% on Monday and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gaining close to 3%.
The optimism spread to Asia, helping Samsung and SK Hynix recover as investors reassessed the growth prospects of companies supplying the hardware behind AI expansion.
Both companies are major suppliers of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, which is used in advanced AI accelerators.
Strong demand for these products has made the memory business a central part of the AI investment cycle, although recent market volatility has highlighted concerns about how long spending can continue at its current pace.
HBM4 plans and dividend reports in focus
Korean media reported that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are targeting the second quarter of 2027 for mass production and shipments of eight-layer, sixth-generation HBM4 products to Nvidia.
The reported timeline reflects changing requirements for memory used in next-generation AI accelerators, with chipmakers adjusting product configurations as they work to manage manufacturing constraints and supply needs.
SK Hynix also attracted attention after a report said it was considering a special dividend of around 16 trillion won, potentially funded by gains related to its investment in Japanese memory-chip maker Kioxia.
However, SK Hynix said it was reviewing various shareholder-return measures and that no decision had been made.
The company plans to provide an update alongside its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
The chipmaker recently halted plans for a potential US listing of its Solidigm unit, citing market conditions and share-price trends.
The decision removed one possible avenue for raising capital to fund expansion, while leaving alternative financing options under consideration.
Earnings test next
SK Hynix reports third-quarter results on October 28, followed by Samsung Electronics on October 29. Investors will focus on HBM sales, pricing, order visibility and guidance for 2027 to assess whether AI-related demand can sustain the industry’s growth.
The results will also be scrutinised for signs that customers are delaying purchases or rethinking investment plans as financing costs and concerns over AI profitability persist.
With Korean equities still recovering from a steep October decline, earnings from the two chipmakers could prove crucial in determining whether the rally extends beyond a short-term relief bounce.
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