SK Hynix Inc. shares reversed an early slide and moved higher on Thursday after reports surfaced that the memory-chip producer intends to expand wafer capacity substantially over the next decade.
Shares of SK Hynix (000660) advanced 2.6% to 21 million won following an intraday drop of as much as 3.5%. The stock's rebound lent support to the South Korean benchmark KOSPI index, which recovered a portion of its initial losses but remained in negative territory by the close. Rival Samsung Electronics (005930) traded lower, falling by just over 1% during the same session.
According to comments made to Nikkei Asia by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Wednesday, SK Hynix plans to triple its wafer capacity by 2034. The capacity expansion is intended to address what the company sees as rising demand for its more advanced memory chips, which the report described as central to artificial intelligence development.
SK Hynix is among the world's largest producers of memory semiconductors and has been a significant beneficiary of the elevated demand tied to AI applications over the past year. That surge in demand tightened memory markets and contributed to sharp increases in pricing for some memory products.
The strength in demand and pricing earlier pushed SK Hynix's market valuation above $1 trillion last month. However, the stock later became exposed to heavy profit-taking in early June, falling roughly 11% last week amid renewed questions about the sustainability of the AI-driven recovery. Separately, investor concerns about potential increases in global interest rates have put additional downward pressure on technology shares.
Market participants will likely watch whether the announced capacity ambitions can be translated into concrete investment plans and execution on the factory build-out timeline, and how that aligns with demand for advanced memory products tied to AI-related deployments.
Market snapshot:
- SK Hynix (000660): +2.6% to 21 million won after earlier drop of up to 3.5%
- Samsung Electronics (005930): down just over 1%
- KOSPI: recouped some early losses but remained lower on the session