Asian chip stocks rally as KOSPI breaches 7,000 on AI optimism

South Korea's Kospi breached the 7,000 level on Tuesday morning as semiconductor stocks across Asia extended their rally, fueled by renewed optimism around artificial intelligence demand and a string of AI-related announcements in the United States.

SK Hynix ↗ 4.83% rose over 1% in pre-market trading while Samsung Electronics gained modestly, helping push the Kospi above the closely watched threshold for the first time in several sessions. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.4%, with the information technology sector making the largest contribution. In Japan, SoftBank surged more than 4% and memory-chip maker Kioxia added 1.6%.moneycontrol+2

AI Catalysts Drive Sentiment

The rally built on overnight strength in U.S. chip stocks, where the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 1.3% even as the three major Wall Street indexes declined. Intel ↗ 9.05% jumped 9.1%, AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ↗ 5.90% surged 5.9%, and Broadcom ↗ 2.98% gained 3% during Monday's session.sedaily+1

Two developments helped sustain the AI trade. OpenAI began rolling out GPT-6 Astra, which it called "the most capable model we have ever broadly deployed," with availability through Amazon Web Services Amazon.com, Inc. ↘ 0.60% and its own API. Separately, Qualcomm ↗ 3.17% announced a data center chip partnership with Amazon on Tuesday under which the e-commerce giant could purchase up to $60 billion of Qualcomm server chips and related technology, according to Reuters. Qualcomm shares jumped 10% in U.S. trading on the news.cnbc+3

Reports that memory chip inventories at Samsung and SK Hynix had fallen below 10 days also buoyed sentiment toward the sector, according to Seoul Economic Daily.sedaily

Gains Tested by Oil, Inflation Risks

The rally faces headwinds. Brent crude climbed toward $100 a barrel after U.S. forces struck an Iranian tanker near Kharg Island, stoking fears of supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. The Kospi surrendered its early gains during Tuesday's session, closing down 0.6% at 6,954.52 as retail investors took profits after the index briefly approached 7,200.theedgemalaysia+3

"Samsung and SK Hynix have been carrying this rally almost single-handedly, and we're seeing that initial excitement cooling a little," said Zavier Wong, a market analyst at eToro Singapore.theedgemalaysia

Attention now turns to the U.S. consumer price index for August, due Friday, which economists expect to show headline inflation rising 0.4% month-over-month partly due to higher gasoline costs. Markets are pricing roughly a 60% probability of a rate hike at the Federal Reserve's September 15–16 meeting.moneycontrol+2