US Stock Market Movement | SK Hynix (SKHY.US) rises over 6%, may announce a 40 trillion Korean won share buyback plan in Q4

According to information from Zhitong Financial APP, on Tuesday, SK Hynix (SKHY.US) shares rose, up more than 6% as of press time, trading at $187.99. News reports indicate that, driven by the booming AI storage chip market, South Korea’s two major chip companies have generated record shareholder returns. SK Hynix may announce a new share buyback plan worth up to 40 trillion KRW (equivalent to $28 billion) in the fourth quarter. Mohammad Hassan, Head of Asia-Pacific Equity Dividend Forecasting at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in an interview: "We expect that there will be more buyback programs announced in the fourth quarter."

He stated: "The lower limit for the new round of buybacks may be 20 trillion KRW, and it could reach 40 trillion KRW again." He added that even if a large-scale buyback is implemented, SK Hynix would still have the capacity to pay "considerable and generous dividends."

Hassan noted that, combined with Samsung Electronics’ record dividend plan, SK Hynix's buyback program will set a new benchmark for the Korean market and motivate other companies to follow suit.

He commented that the dividend commitments made by the two industry leaders represent another major positive for the Korean stock market. "More and more companies will imitate this practice, as it establishes a new standard for how shareholders should be rewarded in the market."