South Korea's AI Trade Roars Back: Samsung and SK Hynix Lead $160 Billion Market Rebound

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index rose as much as 5% on Wednesday, prompting the Korea Exchange to initiate a temporary restriction on program buying. The increase reversed a market decline from the previous day and was driven by investors purchasing shares of semiconductor manufacturers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, listed in the U.S. as SK Hynix Inc. ADR (NASDAQ:SKHY). Tech Gains Drive Market Rebound The Korea Exchange suspended program buying for five minutes when the Kospi index experienced a 4.7% surge, according to a post by the X account Bull Theory. This market movement added over 238 trillion won, or 160 billion dollars, to the value of South Korean equities. At the last check during the trading session, shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix increased by up to 4.84% and 4.09%, respectively. This rebound follows a volatile period for South Korean stocks; the Kospi index more than doubled in the first half of the year before experiencing multiple downturns, including a nearly 40% drop from its peak in June. BREAKING: 🇰🇷 Korea Exchange halted program buying for 5 minutes as the KOSPI surged +4.7%.Over ₩238,000,000,000,000 ($160 BILLION) added to the South Korean stocks.Samsung and SK Hynix surged +7% and +7.5%. pic.twitter.com/wS2fauq6xW— Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) October 21, 2026 Read Also: EXCLUSIVE: Forget China — Samsung Is The Bigger Threat To Micron, SanDisk Investors, Says Nicholas Mugalli Elice Recovers Following IPO Decline The broader market recovery aligned with a reversal for Kosdaq-listed Elice, an artificial intelligence cloud and data center operator. After falling 32% during its initial trading day on Tuesday, Elice shares surged 29.92% to 79,900 won, hitting the daily upper limit on Wednesday, after plunging 32% on their debut a day earlier. The shares remained about 11.7% below their 90,500-won IPO price. According to a Business Insider report, Elice Chief Executive Officer Jae Won Kim addressed the market fluctuations, saying, “I’m not worried about the volatility issues in the first week.” Kim also noted that Elice expects its revenue to at least double this year. According to its IPO prospectus, Elice reported first-half revenue of 34.4 billion won, roughly $26 million, triple the year-earlier level, along with operating profit of 10.3 billion won. Wall Street and Asian Markets The South Korean rally followed a mixed overnight session on Wall Street, where the Dow climbed 1.02% and the S&P 500 rose 0.28%, while the Nasdaq declined slightly amid ongoing concerns regarding AI spending. Across broader Asian markets, performance was mixed; the Taiwan index gained 1.01%, and the Nikkei rose 0.86%, while the Shanghai and Shenzhen indexes both recorded declines of 0.31%. Read Also: Elon Musk Says SPCX Could Reach Up to $1 Trillion ARR By 2027—Gwynne Shotwell Says Starlink Is Contracted for 12,000 Aircraft Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock