SK Hynix Tops 1.2 Million Won Milestone as Chip Rally Powers KOSPI to Record

TradingKey - In early Tuesday (April 21) trading, the South Korean benchmark KOSPI rose as much as 2.2%, breaching the 6,300-point threshold to hit an all-time high of 6,355.39 points, erasing all losses since the outbreak of the war in Iran.

This was primarily driven by gains in chipmaker stocks, with heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix contributing the most. Samsung Electronics rose more than 2% at one point, while SK Hynix jumped 4.37%, with its share price surpassing the 1.2 million won mark for the first time during intraday trading to set a new record.

On the news front, AFP reported that the White House stated Vice President Vance is prepared to fly back to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, while Islamabad is also clearly making preparations for a second round of talks. However, the Iranian government has so far refused to confirm its participation in the negotiations.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated on social media platform X that Trump is attempting to turn the negotiating table into a "surrender table" or find an excuse to incite war again through blockades and violations of the ceasefire agreement, adding that Iran does not accept coercion and has prepared to reveal "new cards" on the battlefield over the past two weeks.

Despite this, from the perspective of market sentiment, investors continue to pin their hopes on this week's U.S.-Iran peace talks to resolve the conflict.

In terms of individual stocks, SK Hynix is set to release its Q1 earnings results in two days on April 23. KB Securities in South Korea predicts that SK Hynix's first-quarter operating profit will reach 40 trillion won, which would be a record high, boosting sentiment across the South Korean stock market.