SK Hynix Debut Lifts US Stocks as Meta Soars on AI Efforts

The US stock market ended the week on a high note, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting gains for the second consecutive week. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its first weekly loss in two weeks.

SK Hynix, a South Korean memory chip maker, made a strong debut on the US stock market, with its American depositary receipts (ADRs) surging 13% above their offering price of $149. The company's listing was highly anticipated, and it has been in high demand due to the growing need for memory chips.

The S&P 500 ended the week up 0.4%, while the Nasdaq rose by 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 0.3%. Meanwhile, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) added 0.5%, with gains in Meta Platforms (META) and Nvidia (NVDA) offsetting weakness in other tech stocks.

Meta's stock price was boosted by its recent launch of its Muse Spark 1.1 AI coding tool, as well as its plans to begin manufacturing its in-house AI chip, codenamed 'Iris,' in September. The company's efforts to tackle competition from OpenAI and Anthropic also contributed to the boost.