SK Hynix shares surge 11% after ADR jumps 27% on Nasdaq debut

SK Hynix shares have been on a wild ride, plunging more than 40% from their peak in just three weeks before rebounding more than 27%. The extreme swings in the Kospi's second-largest stock — whose market cap has hovered around 1,500 trillion won — have rattled the broader index as well.

SK Hynix was trading up 11.60% at 2.13 million won ($1,340) as of 9:53 a.m. Wednesday, according to Korea Exchange.

The stock has swung sharply in recent weeks. On June 25, it climbed to an intraday high of 2.99 million won, stoking expectations that it would breach the 3 million won mark.

However, concerns about a peak-out in AI demand sent the stock into a steep decline. On Tuesday, the share price tumbled to an intraday low of 1.68 million won — a drop of 43.8% from its peak.

The mood reversed just as quickly. SK Hynix's American depositary receipts, newly listed on Nasdaq, closed overnight at $193.92, up 27.29% from the previous session, pulling the domestic shares higher on Wednesday.

The rally was further fueled by an upbeat Wall Street research note arguing that SK Hynix's ADR has significant room to rise, driving a sharp advance in early trading.

Barclays analyst Simon Coles set a price target of $330 on the SK Hynix ADR, citing expectations that a memory chip supply shortage will persist.

"We expect the memory semiconductor supply shortage to deepen further in 2027, with only limited improvement in 2028," Barclays said, adding that tight supply conditions are likely to continue for years.

An overnight rally on Wall Street, driven by easing US inflation concerns, also contributed to Wednesday's gains. Major US indexes advanced in unison.

AI chip bellwether Nvidia rose 4.06%, while other semiconductor names also posted strong gains — Micron climbed 4.92%, SanDisk 5.01%, Intel 4.50% and AMD 2.57%.

SK Square, SK Hynix's largest shareholder with a 20% stake, also surged sharply in early trading.

SK Square was up 18.91% at 1.42 million won at the same time. Its shares have tracked SK Hynix closely: after hitting an intraday high of 2.19 million won on June 23, the stock plunged to an intraday low of 1.09 million won on Tuesday.

Samsung Electronics, the Kospi's top stock by market cap, also rose Wednesday, lifted by the positive momentum from SK Hynix. Its shares were up 5.61% at 277,750 won.

Samsung Electronics had fallen more than 10% on Monday before recovering 3% on Tuesday, and extended those gains Wednesday for a second consecutive session. Buoyed by the surge in large-cap stocks, the Kospi was up 6.9% at 7,329.97.

"Domestic equities have undergone a historic correction that rivals or exceeds the scale seen during the global financial crisis, leaving little room for further deterioration in terms of valuations or share prices," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. "The psychology that things are unlikely to get much worse could serve as the spark for a market recovery."