Micron's Surprise Earnings Boost KOSPI Over 5% to 8900

The KOSPI index experienced a dramatic surge of over 5% shortly after opening on March 25, driven by a surprise earnings announcement from Micron Technology. The global memory chip giant, considered one of the top three alongside Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, exceeded market expectations, sending ripples of optimism through the South Korean stock market.

As a result, the KOSPI reached 8940.03 points by 9:15 AM, marking a 5.54% increase from the previous day. The KOSPI 200 futures index also climbed more than 5%, triggering a "buy-side car" program trading suspension for five minutes. This marks the fifth such suspension this month, highlighting the market's volatility and strong upward momentum.

Leading the charge were major South Korean tech companies. Samsung Electronics saw its stock price rise by 4.26% to 355,000 won, while SK Hynix experienced an even more significant jump of 9.69% to 2,830,000 won. Samsung C&T and SK also posted impressive gains of 12.98% and 19.10%, respectively.

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Micron's performance is not just beyond reproach, it's an all-time surprise.

Analysts attributed the market's strong performance to Micron's stellar financial results, which were released after the U.S. market close. Micron reported that its revenue for the March-May quarter reached $41.46 billion (approximately 64 trillion won), a staggering 345.7% increase compared to the same period last year. The company's stock also surged 15% in after-hours trading, with other semiconductor-related stocks like SanDisk and Seagate also experiencing significant gains.

Hur Jae-hwan, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, described Micron's performance as "beyond reproach, an all-time surprise." He added that the "controversy over the peak of artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be subsiding," suggesting that the strong chip demand is likely to continue. Meanwhile, the won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1543.0 won, a 1.2% increase from the previous day's closing price.

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The controversy over the peak of artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be subsiding.