OpenAI's launch of its GPT-6 Astra model reignited investor demand for memory chip stocks, sending Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Kioxia sharply higher in Asian trading. Analysts at Nomura, Saxo Bank and Goldman Sachs point to the model's heavy compute needs as evidence the AI-driven semiconductor rally still has room to run.
SK Hynix ordinary shares spiked 8% and Samsung Electronics gained more than 5% in Asian trading Monday, extending a rally in memory chip stocks that began in the U.S. the previous Friday. Fellow semiconductor play DB HiTek leapt 12%, while Japan's Kioxia Holdings added 10%.
Astra's compute appetite drives the trade
The rally follows the launch of OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra, which the company released on September 3 and trained on more than 100,000 GPUs — its largest-scale run to date. OpenAI president Greg Brockman described the release as "the world's most intelligent and aligned model", and investors read Astra's scale as reassurance that demand for high-bandwidth memory, DRAM and GPUs will keep growing. Because Astra is built to process more complex tasks, its release reinforced optimism that the so-called semiconductor supercycle can persist.
Nomura's CW Chung reiterated bullish price targets of KRW 670,000 for Samsung and KRW 4,700,000 for SK Hynix, well above their current levels of KRW 270,000 and KRW 1,783,000. Saxo Bank chief investment strategist Charu Channa said the Astra launch supports continued AI spending as memory and network bottlenecks continue to broaden. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, estimate more than half of the $1.3-1.5 trillion in AI capex planned for 2027 will go toward memory.
Friday's U.S. gains set the stage
The move began in the U.S. on Friday, when Micron Technology rose 6.1% and Sandisk jumped 11.9%, while the iShares Semiconductor Index ETF gained 3.5%, pushing its year-to-date return to 72% despite a roughly 30% correction in July. Korea's Kospi index, viewed as a bellwether for the AI "picks 'n shovels" trade, has recouped around 25% since its July 29 trough of 5,593, climbing to the cusp of 7,000.
That trough lines up with a broader sector low: semiconductor sales reached $146.8 billion in July 2026, up 6.4% from the prior month and 135.1% higher year-over-year, before the sector's summer slide. Goldman Sachs chief Asian equity strategist Tim Moe reiterated his 12,000 year-end target for the Kospi, noting that earnings forecasts for the market are still rising and that foreign ownership of Korea's semiconductor sector remains far below its historical average.
Sources: MarketWatch, Crypto Briefing
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