Will the semiconductor boom continue despite high oil prices and war uncertainty?

Stock markets in South Korea and the United States hit alltime highs, driven by strength in semiconductors. According to related reports on the 6th, expanding demand for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and improved earnings from major semiconductor companies led the market rally. In the United States, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both set new alltime highs, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also rose sharply. Major stocks such as Intel, AMD, Micron, and SanDisk showed strength, and analysts said that as AI expands from the training stage to the inference stage, demand for CPUs and memory semiconductors is also increasing. At home, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose sharply, leading the gains in the KOSPI. The industry and securities analysts believe that HBM4 shipments, increased data center investment, and rising memory prices could support the semiconductor industry for the time being. However, it was also noted that the future trend may vary depending on the pace of AI investment and supply conditions.