South Korean stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday (October 28), led by semiconductor shares.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 6.6% to close at 6,012.44 points, marking its biggest single-day advance since July 31.
SK hynix announced record quarterly profits and unveiled a shareholder return program worth approximately US$75 billion, boosting market confidence in the earnings outlook for South Korea's semiconductor industry.
According to reports, SK hynix posted a record third-quarter operating profit of 83.3 trillion won, up more than sixfold year-on-year and exceeding market expectations of 76.7 trillion won. Revenue surged approximately 328% year-on-year to 104.6 trillion won.
The company stated that continued investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure is driving growing demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and conventional memory chips, and it expects the global memory chip supply shortage to persist through 2030.
SK hynix also announced plans to return approximately 100 trillion won (about US$75 billion) to shareholders in 2026, including cash dividends and share buybacks and cancellations.
The strong results drove SK hynix shares higher, while other semiconductor heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics also posted significant gains, fueling a broad rebound in South Korean equities.
During the morning session, as KOSPI 200 index futures rose rapidly, the Korea Exchange briefly activated a program trading buy-side circuit breaker.
External markets also provided support. Overnight, U.S. stocks advanced on the back of AI-themed shares, with the Nasdaq Composite rising 1.18% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gaining 3.6%, further lifting investor sentiment toward Asian technology stocks.
Nevertheless, the market remains focused on the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision and the sustainability of the global AI investment boom.
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