Kospi 6% Surge: How SK Hynix and Nvidia Catalysts Spill Over to India

South Korea's Kospi jumped 6% on Monday, regaining nearly all of last week's losses. The rally was driven by two distinct catalysts that lifted semiconductor stocks across the board.

The first came from SK Hynix. The memory-chip maker filed for a blockbuster listing on the Nasdaq, aiming to raise capital for its high-bandwidth memory expansion. SK Hynix shares surged 11% on the news. The stock is now up roughly 45% year to date, powered by orders from Nvidia and other AI customers. The Nasdaq filing gives the company a direct channel to U.S. capital markets, a move that investors read as a bet on long-term AI demand.

The second trigger involved Nvidia's China risk. Reports over the weekend suggested the Biden administration would not impose additional export curbs on AI chips to China. Nvidia shares rose 4% in pre-market trading, lifting sentiment across the global chip supply chain. Korean suppliers – Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which provide memory and packaging for Nvidia's AI accelerators – benefited directly.

The Kospi's gain was broad. The tech-heavy Kosdaq index added 4.8%, with smaller chip-equipment and materials stocks joining the move. Foreign investors turned net buyers of Korean equities for the first time in seven sessions, exchange data showed.

For India, the spillover was modest but visible. Infosys and Wipro each rose roughly 1.5%, tracking the global tech rebound. The Nifty IT index gained 1.2%. Infosys carries an Alpha Score of 57, and Wipro scores 46 – both in the moderate-to-mixed range. The read-through here is more sentiment than direct exposure. Indian IT firms derive most of their revenue from services, not memory chips. A sustained rally in Korean semiconductor stocks would need to translate into higher IT spending by global clients to have a real impact on Indian names.

The triggers that moved the Kospi are tied to the same deep cycle. HBM demand is pulling capex forward, and the Nasdaq listing gives SK Hynix a pipeline to U.S. funding markets. The margin for error, though, is tight. Any delay in SEC approval or a weaker-than-expected debut could reverse the gains the stock has priced in.

SK Hynix expects the Nasdaq filing to be completed by the third quarter of 2025, with trading later in the year. The company has not disclosed the size of the offering. That date is the next concrete marker for the thesis.