Memory bounces: Micron +5.1%, SanDisk +3.6% — but both faded hard off the highs
US memory stocks clawed back part of Thursday's crash on November 6, helped by reassurance from the White House and a hot jobs report — but Seoul's chipmakers had already closed sharply lower, and the week's damage is still deep.
The News
Micron closed at $690.00 on Friday, November 6, up $33.61 or 5.12% from $656.39, and SanDisk closed at $835.06, up $28.63 or 3.55% from $806.43. It was a bounce, not a turn: Micron touched $724.80 during the session and SanDisk $912.09, and both closed well below those peaks after opening far higher — Micron at $708.35 and SanDisk at $898.27. The SK hynix US listing rose 2.78% to $127.34, but the bounce did not reach the hard-disk makers: Western Digital fell 1.44% to $263.78 and Seagate 1.19% to $460.99, so this was a DRAM and NAND story — the fast memory chips that go into AI servers and phones — not a storage story.
Three things lifted the tape. First, simple dip-buying after an oversold Thursday: the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 4.21% to 9,390.25, recovering about a third of its 12.25% collapse the day before. Second, White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said the Democratic midterm wins will not stop the datacenter build-out, telling CNBC there is plenty of room for datacenter growth to continue as projected before the election. Third, October payrolls came in at 165,000 jobs, far above the 65,000 expected in a Reuters poll, which lifted the whole market early in the session.
The same jobs report capped the rally. Strong hiring pushed the priced odds of a December Federal Reserve rate rise to about 78%, up from 70% according to LSEG, and the 10-year Treasury yield to 4.86% — a rate rise makes borrowing more expensive, which weighs on growth stocks. The Nasdaq rose 1.09% to 24,579.42 and the S&P 500 added 0.31% to 7,376.86, while the Dow fell 0.46% to 51,285.73. The week still belongs to the sellers: Micron is down 26.15% and SanDisk 37.22% over five sessions, the S&P 500 fell 2.7% on the week and the Nasdaq 3.4%, its fourth straight weekly decline. And Seoul had already closed before New York bounced: SK hynix fell 10.44% to ₩1,132,000 and Samsung 6.35% to ₩188,700, two-day falls of 18.91% and 13.44% from November 4.
There's plenty of room in the U.S. for data center growth to continue, as it was projected ahead of the election.
Why It Matters
A bounce after a crash is the market's most common move, and the least reliable signal. Thursday's selling was driven by politics — new calls for pauses on AI development and datacenter building after the Democratic midterm sweep — and Friday's buying was driven by the opposite message from the White House. Neither day changed the facts underneath: memory is still scarce, with prices roughly doubled from a year ago, and the demand is still contracted. Samsung said on its October 29 call that it has finished price talks and locked in its 2027 high-bandwidth memory volumes, and SK hynix disclosed on October 28 that long-term agreements with 14 major customers cover more than half of its 2027–28 production capacity, with virtually all of its DRAM and high-bandwidth memory output through 2029 effectively sold.
That is why the verdict is Mixed rather than a celebration. The 2027 demand picture is locked in, but the politics could still bite in 2028: UBS estimated about 30% of expected new 2028 US capacity additions could face construction delays — a figure relayed by Seoul Economic Daily, not published by the bank itself. The divergence inside storage matters too: when the disk-drive makers fall on a day the memory makers rise, the market is saying the AI memory shortage, not a broad storage recovery, is the story.
Analyst's Take
Our call is Mixed. The bounce was real but partial — it recovered less than a third of one day's losses — and it faded from the highs into a tape that is now pricing a December rate rise. Memory stocks are still priced for a build-out that politicians are openly debating, and until the permitting picture clears, every rally will be tested by the next headline.
What to watch: Monday's Seoul open, which will show whether Korea follows New York's bounce or extends its own rout; Tuesday's October inflation report, the last major data before the Fed's December 8–9 meeting; and SanDisk's 8-for-1 share split — record date November 9, extra shares distributed after the close on November 19, split-adjusted trading from November 20 — which will divide every per-share SanDisk figure by eight without changing the value of a holding.
Are you bullish or bearish on this story?
By The Numbers
FAQ
Why did memory stocks bounce on November 6?
Dip-buying after Thursday's crash, reassurance from White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett that the midterm results will not stop datacenter building, and a stronger-than-expected October jobs report — 165,000 new jobs against 65,000 expected — which lifted the whole market early in the session.
If the bounce was real, why is the verdict Mixed?
Because it recovered less than a third of one day's losses and faded from the intraday highs. Micron touched $724.80 and closed at $690.00; SanDisk touched $912.09 and closed at $835.06. Over five sessions Micron is still down 26.15% and SanDisk 37.22%.
Why did Seoul fall while US memory stocks rose?
Seoul's session closed before New York's rebound — the two markets trade hours apart. SK hynix fell 10.44% to ₩1,132,000 and Samsung 6.35% to ₩188,700 in Seoul's November 6 session, and there is no Seoul session on Saturday, so those closes stand until Monday.
Why did Western Digital and Seagate fall while Micron and SanDisk rose?
Western Digital and Seagate make hard-disk drives, a different storage technology from the DRAM and NAND flash memory that Micron and SanDisk sell. The bounce was driven by the AI memory shortage, not by storage demand in general.
What happens to SanDisk's share price on November 20?
SanDisk is splitting its shares 8-for-1. The record date is November 9, extra shares are distributed after the close on November 19, and split-adjusted trading starts November 20. Every per-share figure divides by eight — the $835.06 close becomes about $104.38 — but each shareholder owns eight times as many shares, so the value of a holding does not change.
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Source: Market Briefer / Finnhub / Reuters