The latest trading session saw a rebound in Chinese equities, with all three major indices rising by 1% or more. The ChiNext index initially surged before pulling back, while the STAR 50 index posted gains exceeding 2%. By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.02%, the Shenzhen Component Index added 1.42%, and the ChiNext Index rose 1.35%. Market breadth was nearly balanced, with 2,856 stocks advancing and 2,536 declining.
Innovation-driven pharmaceutical stocks led the rally, with companies such as 泓博医药, 昭衍新药, 普洛药业, and 珍宝岛 among more than a dozen hitting the daily limit. 药石科技, 皓元医药, and 益诺思 each surged over 10%. The rare earth sector maintained strength throughout the session, with 中国稀土 also hitting the daily limit. In the technology space, sectors including PCB, CPO, and semiconductor chips posted notable gains. PCB concept stocks extended their rally, with 一博科技, 宝鼎科技, and 生益科技 among those reaching the daily limit.
After the market closed, SK Hynix announced a major investment plan. The company stated it would allocate 54 trillion won (approximately $38 billion or 250 billion yuan) to expand its chip manufacturing facilities in South Korea. This includes building a new DRAM fabrication plant in Yongin and a NAND flash wafer facility in Cheongju, with about two-thirds of the budget directed toward the Yongin project. In a statement, SK Hynix said the investment targets both dynamic random access memory for minimal latency and solid-state storage for rapid data access, aiming to meet "the growing storage demand in the AI era."
As a key player in the AI infrastructure boom and a major partner of Nvidia, SK Hynix had previously driven significant gains in the KOSPI index. However, recent shifts in market sentiment toward AI, from enthusiasm to skepticism, have made the stock a source of volatility in South Korea's market. Despite having production capacity sold out through 2027 and increasingly signing long-term contracts with clients, questions persist about whether the company can sustain its current high profit margins over the long term. SK Hynix, along with Samsung Electronics, has committed to further large-scale investments to strengthen domestic manufacturing and AI capabilities. The South Korean government announced a broad plan in late June, aiming to double domestic memory chip production capacity within five years and build world-class manufacturing capabilities to outpace competitors.
SK Hynix's shares listed in Seoul fell 4.97% on Friday, but losses narrowed to 2.1% in after-hours trading on Nextrade by 4:45 p.m. local time. In U.S. overnight trading, the stock also saw a sharp upward move.
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