SK Hynix plans a $29.4 billion Nasdaq listing, sending its stock up 11% and lifting the Kospi 5% as tech stocks rebound from a selloff.
Memory chipmaker SK Hynix plans a Nasdaq listing worth $29.4 billion, a move that sent its shares up 11% and pushed South Korea's Kospi index more than 5% higher on Thursday.
The filing, one of the largest foreign listings ever on the Nasdaq, comes as the company looks to tap deeper U.S. capital markets and broaden its investor base beyond Asia. SK Hynix is the world's second-largest memory chipmaker and a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory used in Nvidia's AI accelerators.
The stock jumped 11% on the news, extending gains after the company filed for the listing, as reported. The broader Kospi index had fallen sharply earlier this week on concerns over AI spending and trade tensions. Thursday's rally recouped most of those losses.
Traders said the listing plan signals confidence in the company's growth prospects, particularly in AI-related memory chips. SK Hynix has been investing heavily in new production capacity for HBM3E chips, which are used in Nvidia's latest Blackwell architecture. The Nasdaq listing would give the company a direct currency hedge and access to a deeper pool of U.S. institutional investors.
The Kospi's 5.2% gain was its largest single-day advance since February. The index had dropped 8% over the prior three sessions as tech stocks sold off globally after a weak earnings report from a major U.S. cloud provider raised questions about AI infrastructure spending.
SK Hynix's listing plan is subject to regulatory approvals in both South Korea and the United States. The company expects to complete the process by the end of 2026, people familiar with the matter said. The offering is being led by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
The rally in Korean tech stocks also lifted other chip-related names. Samsung Electronics rose 3.8%, while smaller peers like DB HiTek and SFA Engineering gained 4-6%.
For investors tracking the AI supply chain, the listing creates a new way to gain exposure to memory chips without taking on Korea-specific currency or political risk. The Nasdaq listing could also pressure other Asian chipmakers to consider U.S. listings, analysts said.
The Kospi closed at 2,845 on Thursday, still down 12% from its all-time high set in 2024.
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