Key Highlights

● SK hynix posted a quarter with over 100 trillion won in revenue.

● SK hynix expects the memory shortage to last into 2030.

● Micron climbed alongside Sandisk and Seagate.

● Nvidia was a notable laggard even as memory names rallied.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) climbed on Wednesday, October 28, after blockbuster results from SK hynix (NASDAQ:SKHY) sent a jolt through the memory-chip industry and lifted the S&P 500's semiconductor names.

Micron did not report results of its own on Wednesday, but investors treated SK hynix's numbers as a strong read-through for the whole memory market.

SK Hynix's Blowout

SK hynix, one of the world's largest makers of memory chips, posted its first quarter with more than 100 trillion won in revenue, roughly $78.7 billion. Operating profit came in at about $62.7 billion, and profit jumped more than sevenfold, according to market reports.

The South Korean company also announced a shareholder return plan of about 100 trillion won and said it expects the memory shortage to last into 2030. Its US-listed shares jumped, and South Korea's KOSPI index soared. For Micron, the US-listed leader in memory, those comments mattered more than almost anything else.

Memory Stocks Rally

Micron was part of a wider charge. Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) soared, Seagate (NASDAQ:STX) climbed after its own quarterly report, and chip-equipment makers Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) both jumped. Arm (NASDAQ:ARM), AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) and Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) also rose.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed for a fourth straight session to close at 11,684.00. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) was a notable exception, slipping even as most of its peers rallied. The memory rally was one strand of a broader AI infrastructure surge, with Vertiv Holdings (NYSE:VRT) rocketing after orders more than doubled and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) soaring after setting its $225 billion fiscal 2030 revenue target.

The Indexes

The S&P 500 rose 21.38 points to 7,743.98, its third straight gain. The Nasdaq Composite added 72.04 points to 26,549.85 and the Nasdaq-100, which counts Micron as a member, climbed 161.72 points to 29,813.16.

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate range unchanged in a 10-2 vote, with two officials dissenting in favor of a hike. Technology led the sectors, while utilities and real estate lagged as long-dated Treasury yields climbed.

Extended Trading

Micron gave back some ground after the bell. The stock slipped in extended trading in sympathy with Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which slid sharply after missing profit expectations and reporting negative free cash flow. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), meanwhile, rose in extended trading as its Azure cloud business accelerated.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) reports after Thursday's close, offering another major read on cloud and AI spending, and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Meta (NASDAQ:META) are due later this week.