SK Hynix's Shares Rally, Tracking U.S. Chip Stocks

By Kwanwoo Jun

SK Hynix's shares climbed at the strongest pace in a month on Tuesday, tracking a rally overnight in U.S. semiconductor stocks.

Shares of the South Korean chip maker rose as much as 4.9% to 90,600 won ($67.83) in the morning session, on course for the sharpest daily percentage gain since April 7 and outperforming the benchmark Kospi's 0.3% rise.

U.S. chip stocks, including Micron Technology and Western Digital, jumped 6.11% and 11.26%, respectively, on Wall Street Monday after a Reuters report that Kioxia Holdings and Western Digital--the world's second and fourth largest flash-memory chip makers--were speeding up merger talks.

A Kioxia-Western Digital merger would be positive for investors and other market players by reducing the number of competing NAND flash-memory chip makers and consolidating the industry, Seoul-based Mirae Asset Securities analyst Seo Sang-young said.

SK Hynix, part of the Bain Capital-led investment consortium that has a combined 49.9% stake in Kioxia, could also gain directly from the deal, the analyst said.

The South Korean chip maker could get extra funding resources by disposing of its partial stake or securing a new stake in the merged entity, the analyst added.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 16, 2023 01:05 ET (05:05 GMT)

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