By Kwanwoo Jun
Semiconductor stocks in South Korea rose on Tuesday, tracking an overnight tech rally on Wall Street after the U.S. Senate moved to end the government shutdown.
Shares in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world's top memory-chip makers based in South Korea, closed 2.9% and 2.1% higher, respectively, after paring early sharp gains of more than 5%.
By comparison, the benchmark Kospi rose 0.8%.
Traders appear to be finding momentum in the prospect of an upcoming end to the U.S. government shutdown after a recent lack of catalysts, Seoul-based Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young said in a note Tuesday.
Local chip stocks were off to a strong start, following an overnight rally in U.S. peers, Han added.
Congress was closing in on a deal to reopen the U.S. federal government, sparking a rally in tech stocks on Wall Street on Monday.
Artificial-intelligence chip manufacturer Nvidia and memory chip supplier Micron Technology jumped 5.8% and 6.5%, respectively, on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
The Republican-led Senate late Monday passed a spending package in a vote of 60-40 to end the record-long government shutdown, with Democrats providing just enough votes on Sunday to move the measure across the finish line.
Eight Democrats joined Republicans on the bill, as the GOP holds a 53-47 majority in the Senate but needs 60 votes to advance most legislation.
The Senate is set to send the package back to the Republican-led House for a final vote as soon as Wednesday and then to President Trump's desk.
The bill would reopen the federal government through Jan. 30 and includes three full-year funding bills.
Elsewhere in Asia, semiconductor stocks were mixed.
While Renesas Electronics trimmed early gains to finish 1.1% higher in Japan, its local peer Kioxia Holdings reversed early gains to end 0.9% lower. In Taiwan, TSMC fell 0.7% for the day.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-11-25 0355ET
