SK Hynix jumped more than 7% in Seoul trading on Monday, September 7, with its US ADR having already surged 8.1% on Friday. The catalyst was OpenAI’s release of GPT-6 Astra, its most capable AI model to date.
Samsung Electronics also gained around 4% to 5% in early Seoul trading, as the broader memory chip sector reacted to renewed AI infrastructure optimism.
OpenAI President Greg Brockman described Astra as a potential early form of artificial general intelligence (AGI). The model can browse the web, write software, operate computers, and handle complex professional workflows autonomously.
OPENAI RELEASES GPT-6 ASTRA, SAYS IT COULD MARK THE ARRIVAL OF AGI
OpenAI has started rolling out GPT-6 Astra, its new flagship model, calling it a “generational leap” in AI capability.
President Greg Brockman went further, saying people may eventually look back at “about this… pic.twitter.com/XgsbZ6cIT8
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) September 3, 2026
That capability shift matters for hardware. If companies hand off more complex, multi-step tasks to AI agents, data centres will likely need more GPUs, high-bandwidth memory, server DRAM, and storage to support those workloads.
A key concern hanging over chip stocks in recent months has been that falling token costs and more efficient models could reduce the amount of infrastructure needed to run AI. Astra pushes back against that view.
Meritz Securities analyst Hwang Soo-wook argued that cheaper AI could encourage users to assign longer and more complicated jobs to agents, which would expand total compute workloads rather than shrink them. He also pointed to recovering GPU rental prices after Astra’s release as evidence that computing demand remains solid.
Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young told Seoul Economic Daily that Astra had brought AI demand momentum back into focus and suggested that selling pressure on semiconductor stocks may be nearing exhaustion.
The rally has more than sentiment behind it. KB Securities reported on Monday that memory inventories at both Samsung and SK Hynix had dropped below 10 days of supply.
KB research head Kim Dong-won said next year could bring the tightest supply conditions in history. KB projects global hyperscaler AI infrastructure spending to hit around $1.3 trillion in 2027, up 60% from the prior year, with memory’s share of that investment climbing to 57% from just 14% in 2025.
Supply could tighten further as manufacturers shift capacity toward HBM4. HBM4 requires roughly three times the wafer capacity of conventional DRAM, meaning producing more of it reduces capacity available for standard memory products.
DB Securities analyst Seungyeon Seo raised his SK Hynix price target to ₩2.3 million from ₩2 million, citing HBM4 shipment growth and pricing power. Seo noted that SK Hynix’s third-quarter results may slightly miss market estimates due to unfavorable exchange rates, but said semiconductor industry momentum remains intact.
SK Hynix’s Korean-listed stock carries a Strong Buy consensus rating, with an average price target of ₩2,708,750, implying more than 50% upside from current levels.
DB Securities expects the DRAM boom to continue through 2027, supported by tight supply and strong server demand driven by competition among major tech companies on AI infrastructure.
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