South Korea's Kospi index climbed back into bull market territory this week. It has risen more than 20% from its July low as memory chip stocks led a broad recovery. The rally accelerated Thursday when Sandisk (SNDK) jumped 13.7% on a bullish long-term outlook.
The momentum carried into Asian trading Friday. Sandisk stock closed at $1,528.11 on Thursday after executives detailed a plan for consistent revenue growth through fiscal 2030. The company guided to mid-to-high-teens revenue growth and adjusted gross margins near 80%.
Chief Financial Officer Luis Visoso outlined the payout plan for investors. "We are optimizing for growth, sustainability and returns. As we do that, we expect to return 100% of excess cash to our shareholders after investing in the business." Evercore ISI's Amit Daryanani pointed to new multiyear customer agreements worth $93.9 billion across eight clients, including three U.S. hyperscale data center operators, as the basis for his reiterated outperform rating.
Micron (MU) rose 4.2% and SK Hynix (SKHY) gained 7.3% Thursday. Hard-drive makers Seagate (STX) and Western Digital (WDC) climbed 4.9% and 7.3%, respectively. The chip rally returns theme extended into Friday's Asian session.
Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.73%, the Topix added 0.92%, and the Kospi advanced 2.11%. The small-cap Kosdaq, where KOSDAQ stocks surged even during last month's slump, gained 0.84%. The Kospi crossed 7,000 points for the first time in 15 trading days.
Not everyone agrees the move marks a durable shift. KB Securities' Peter Kim said the earlier sell-off was driven by technical factors and fund flows, not doubts about semiconductor earnings, and that the unwinding of leveraged positions has since eased. Jung In Yun of Fibonacci Asset Management Global was more cautious.
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