Why is SK Hynix stock gaining today?

SK Hynix shares surged nearly 1.5% to ₩1,759,000 on Thursday after news circulated that the company was moving forward with listing its NAND flash subsidiary, Solidigm, to the U.S. market. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were chosen to lead the IPO, which could potentially raise around $10 billion.

However, the news of the U.S. listing sparked some political unease, with a lawmaker urging SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to provide clear plans. This is because a dual listing of Solidigm could potentially put existing SK Hynix shareholders at a disadvantage.

Despite these concerns, the mixed quarterly earnings report from Samsung Electronics seemed to have a positive impact on SK Hynix's stock. Samsung disclosed preliminary Q3 operating profit of 107.40 trillion won, a significant increase from a year ago and nearly tenfold of the higher end of market expectations. This strong performance suggests that the demand for high-bandwidth memory in global AI infrastructure builders is robust.

Moreover, AMD CEO Lisa Su met with SK Hynix executives in Seoul to explore expanding their partnership in AI semiconductors. This collaboration further solidifies SK Hynix's pivotal role in the global AI supply chain.

On a broader market level, the KOSPI index experienced a decline of nearly 2% due to broader chipmaking stocks falling, following Samsung's performance. Additionally, soaring global bond yields added pressure to the market.