Record SK Hynix $26.5bn IPO lifts Asian tech
SK Hynix’s record $26.5 billion US listing reassured investors that demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure remains resilient, triggering a broad rally across Asian technology stocks.
SK Hynix priced its American depositary shares at $149 each, raising $26.5 billion in the largest US listing by a foreign firm. The Nasdaq debut provided a tangible benchmark for the semiconductor sector ahead of earnings season, proving that institutional buyers will still pay premium prices for direct exposure to artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The offering was more than seven times oversubscribed. Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said the demand “tells you all you need to know about the current temperature of the market.” He noted that buyers remain highly focused on “anything bolted to AI infrastructure, especially if it sits close to the high-bandwidth memory bottleneck.”
This pricing acted as a circuit breaker for a tech sector that has suffered weeks of selling driven by concerns over stretched valuations and massive capital expenditure. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 5% intraday before closing up 2.5% at 7,475.94. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 1.2% to close at 68,557.73, led by a 10% surge in SoftBank, while Tokyo Electron and Advantest both gained more than 2%. Advances spread across Mumbai, Singapore, Sydney, Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta, while the Hang Seng rose 1.0% to 24,266.72.
Despite the broader market optimism, SK Hynix’s Seoul-listed shares dipped on Friday after rising 5% the previous day. The stock had previously surged almost 700% over 12 months before hitting a peak on June 23, making it a bellwether for the AI data centre buildout. As a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips to Nvidia alongside Samsung and Micron, the company’s profitability is directly tied to the global race to deploy advanced computing servers.
Broader risk appetite was also supported by easing geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices stabilized, with Brent adding 0.1% to $76.41 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate rising 0.2% to $72.24. Fiona Cincotta of City Index said the price action “suggests investors continue to view the latest escalation as a temporary setback rather than the start of a prolonged conflict.” She added that traders still expect diplomacy to prevail, keeping any disruption to global energy supplies limited.
