Two Major Chip Giants Rally Sharply; South Korean Stock Market Triggers Circuit Breaker
On June 25, stock markets in Japan and South Korea opened higher. As of 08:06 Beijing Time, the Nikkei 225 Index rose 2.32%, while South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index jumped 5.51%.
After the KOSPI 200 futures surged 5%, the Korea Exchange activated the KOSPI circuit breaker, halting algorithmic trading for five minutes.
Boosted by positive earnings news from U.S. memory chip leader Micron Technology, South Korea’s two major chipmakers rallied sharply. At press time, SK Hynix climbed 11%, and Samsung Electronics gained over 5%.
In related news, on June 24, SK Hynix filed a regulatory disclosure with South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service’s DART electronic filing system. The company plans to issue American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) to raise 454.5 trillion South Korean won, equivalent to roughly $294.3 billion, with trading set to commence on the U.S. NASDAQ exchange on July 10. The firm stated the raised capital will expand its global investor base, scale up production of AI-focused HBM memory chips, and fund construction of its Yongin wafer fab and Cheongju advanced packaging facility.
On June 24 local time, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed. Most semiconductor stocks declined, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling 0.18%. Qualcomm lost more than 3%, while Skyworks Solutions, Qorvo dropped over 2% each, and ARM slid more than 1%. Qualcomm’s shares surged over 16% in after-hours trading following positive catalysts.
Memory chip giant Micron Technology released better-than-expected quarterly results after the U.S. market close, sending its stock up more than 16% in after-hours trade. For its fiscal 2026 third quarter ending May 31, Micron posted revenue of $414.6 billion, a year-over-year jump of approximately 346%. Non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share (EPS) soared more than 12 times year-over-year to $25.11. The company forecasts adjusted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue between $490 billion and $510 billion, versus the consensus analyst estimate of $432.4 billion.
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