Korean chip stocks jump 7% as semiconductor exports surge 222%

Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged in Seoul on Wednesday after South Korea reported a 222.5% jump in semiconductor exports, signaling robust demand following a recent selloff in the memory chip sector. SK Hynix rose 7.11% to 1.31 million won, while Samsung gained 5.56% to 223,250 won in morning trading. The KOSPI index climbed 3.28%, recovering part of Tuesday's 3.73% loss. Foreign investors bought a net 197.3 billion won of Korean shares, reversing earlier selling pressure. South Korea exported a record $27.5 billion of semiconductors in the first 20 days of October, with chips accounting for 44.7% of total exports. Analysts noted Samsung trades at about 3.5 times forward earnings and SK Hynix at 2.8 times, below historical cycle lows despite strong AI-driven memory demand.