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Every actor in kabuki -- a traditional Japanese performing art celebrated for its striking makeup and elaborate costumes -- relies on one final, essential element to fully inhabit their role: the wig.

Ahead of a show at the famed Kabuki-za theatre in central Tokyo, wig master Tadashi Kamoji carefully places a topknot creation on a young performer in a flamboyant kimono costume. 

"A kabuki actor can't just walk onto the stage as he is... it's only when he puts on a wig that he truly becomes a kabuki performer," 60-year-old Kamoji told AFP.

"So we must take pride in our job with a sense of very heavy responsibility."

Often hidden behind the curtain, the profession has found itself in the international spotlight after "Kokuho" -- a box-office hit about two "onnagata", male players of female kabuki roles -- was nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the Oscars this year.

Dating back to the 17th century, Kabuki is a fusion of dance, drama and music, and sees actors don ornate costumes, wigs and heavy makeup for performances in old dialect on elaborate sets.

After a craftsman creates the wigs using human hair, Kamoji's job is to style them.

But his role goes beyond that of hairdresser.

"You cannot do a good job if you don't grasp the character's nature," said Kamoji, a fourth-generation "tokoyama" who joined the profession at 18.

Whether it's a middle-aged man with a strong sense of justice, or a high-ranking courtesan, a wig serves to convey age, social status, occupation and personality.

At his atelier, Kamoji spent two hours fashioning the wig for the young actor, sculpting beautifully curved sides and a topknot called a "mage" -- a classic hairstyle modern Japanese no longer wear -- for his sumo wrestler role.

Kneeling on a tatami floor, he sectioned the hair using a traditional comb and smoothed it with steaming irons, occasionally pulling a string with his teeth to secure strands.

These specialists are "truly indispensable," the wig's 33-year-old recipient Nakamura Tanenosuke, told AFP.

"There is almost no kabuki performance without wigs," said the actor, who has been working with the masters since the age of five and is sporting Kamoji's artistry this month for his show about a noble family feud.

- 'The final touch' -

Backstage at the Kabuki-za theatre, Tanenosuke covers his face in thick white foundation and his assistants help him pull on a large, navy-and-white striped kimono.

"The wig is the final touch that completes the transformation. I see each step as a switch leading to that exact moment when you fully become the character," Tanenosuke said.

"As well as the artistry of the actors, the beauty of the costumes and stage sets is also key to the audience's enjoyment, and I believe the wigs play a part too."

In total, there are around 400 types of wigs for female roles, and 1,000 for male parts.

A fresh creation is crafted for each performance and customised for each actor, taking between a few hours and a month to complete depending on the complexity.

Despite doing the job for four decades, Kamoji says he's only just come to believe he's capable.

"To this day, there are still things I learn from my father" who is 85, he said.

"It's endless. When I watch the seniors, it looks as though the hair is dancing in their hands.

"I don't think I'm there yet, but I suppose I will be able to control hair when I'm about my father's age."

But the efforts feel worthwhile when actors receive a huge cheer or a round of applause on stage.

"I feel as though part of it belongs to us," Kamoji said.

"If the audience thinks the actor looks brilliant, it makes me feel that our (wig) perhaps suited him. I very much feel a sense of joy in that."

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Labourers sweated as they wheeled bags of clothes, shoes and accessories to a sprawling wholesale market in southern China, where shop owners hoped an upcoming visit by Donald Trump would see an easing of tariffs hitting their exports.

Factories in Guangdong province, China's production heartland, have borne the brunt of the president's mercurial policies and a blistering trade war that saw US levies on their goods reach an eyewatering 145 percent for many products.

The tit-for-tat escalation cooled off after Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a one-year truce in October, but manufacturers at the bustling Guangdong market told AFP that US orders had dwindled.

"It's very clear -- American customers have basically vanished," said Zhou Hua, a sales manager at denim company "1988".

Guangdong accounted for around a fifth of China's foreign trade last year, at a record 9.49 trillion yuan ($1.39 trillion), according to China's customs website.

The White House said last month that Trump will visit China on May 14-15, after delaying an earlier summit because of the war against Iran. 

China's foreign ministry has not confirmed the dates. 

Zhou hopes a Trump visit will mean a reduction in tariffs, which would lead to an increase in orders for his jeans.

While US orders accounted for only around 10 percent of his company's foreign trade, Zhou said the country is a fast fashion hub with "massive demand" for apparel, especially denim. 

For now, the company is focusing on exporting the jeans to other countries and also selling them within China.

"We can't put all our eggs in one basket," he added.

- Break the ice -

US tariffs on Chinese goods are a complex web of overlapping rates and product classifications that have evolved in recent years since Trump launched a trade war in his first presidential term.

A February ruling by the US Supreme Court struck down a broad swath of the president's global tolls launched last year.

Using a different legal framework, he swiftly announced a 10 percent global duty with a validity period of 150 days that also applies to Chinese goods.

A Trump summit in China would help to break the ice between Beijing and Washington, 1988's boss Guo Tao said.

"With the two countries fighting this tariff war, it's a lose-lose situation for everyone, it's not a win-win scenario," Guo told AFP. 

He is worried not just because of the tariffs but also rising costs of raw materials, exacerbated by the war in the Middle East. 

"As business owners, we simply seek a thriving economy, national stability and global peace," he said. 

"Only in a peaceful world can we, as merchants, expand our trade to every corner of the globe."

The corridors were packed with Chinese and foreign buyers haggling over prices, while shop owners touted products on live streams in front of glowing phone screens. 

A handbag seller surnamed Zhuang told AFP that while her small stall had not been directly hit by Trump's tariffs, she "definitely" felt the ripple effects as price-conscious consumers pulled back on spending.

- 'Strike back' -

"They may want to buy our goods but feel the price is too high and decide against it because these aren't necessities," Zhuang said, perched on a small stool unpacking her goods.

She said she would support Xi's decisions should he wish to be "good friends" with Trump.

"But as for expectations -- well, there really aren't any," she said, adding that Trump was "unreliable".

At another wholesale mall, iridescent streamers and gold mirror balls hung from the ceiling of Wen Linpeng's shop selling colourful soap bars, perfumes and make-up products.

Wen's business does not focus on the US market, but he hoped a Trump visit would bring about more cooperation between the two countries.

China will welcome Trump, Wen said, if the US leader comes with "genuine sincerity".

"If he were to adopt an unfriendly stance -- demanding concessions from China or attempting to coerce us into doing things we are unwilling to do, we would strike back with force," Wen told AFP.

"But if he is willing to cooperate with us, we would be more than happy to work with him."

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Asian stocks fell and oil prices rose Thursday as the United States and Iran appeared no closer to holding fresh peace talks and Tehran continued to refuse to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Hopes that the two would meet for a second round of negotiations in Pakistan have dissipated, with the Islamic republic targeting three container ships in the waterway and citing Washington's blockade as its reason for keeping it closed.

Investors have spent most of the week upbeat that a breakthrough to end the seven-week conflict will be made soon, while healthy earnings and a resumption of the AI trade has also provided support.

Crude prices jumped as much as four percent in early Asian business after global security monitors and Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Iranian forces had seized two ships and fired on a third in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran has said vessels must seek permission to leave or enter the Gulf through the waterway, which in peacetime accounts for around a fifth of the world's oil and gas exports along with other vital commodities.

However, the White House said Donald Trump did not consider the move to be a ceasefire violation because the vessels are not American or Israeli.

Meanwhile, Iran's parliament speaker said the Islamic republic would not reopen the Strait as long as the US naval blockade remained, calling it a "blatant violation" of the two countries' ceasefire.

"A complete ceasefire only has meaning if it is not violated through a naval blockade... Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not possible amid a blatant violation of the ceasefire," speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X.

Still, Trump's Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said he "has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal" for talks.

"Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander in chief," she told journalists.

Oil prices remained elevated, with Brent holding above $100 following a surge Wednesday, though they pared Thursday's initial gains.

Most equities fell, though, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington all down.

But Seoul rallied more than one percent to a new record thanks to a fresh rally in the tech sector that has been the backbone of a surge in the Kospi index this year.

Taipei, Manila and Jakarta were also up.

"Whether it's conflict fatigue or confidence that the conflict between the US and Iran will be resolved soon, there is limited evidence that the rise in the oil price dampened bond and equity markets," said National Australia Bank's Skye Masters.

However, she added that the Washington Post had reported a senior Defence Department warned it could take six months to fully clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines and that such an operation would probably not unlikely start before the end of the war.

"It is questionable whether financial markets are correctly pricing the reality that supply constraints will remain an issue for some time," she wrote.

Raphael Olszyna-Marzys, of Bank J. Safra Sarasin, added: "Financial markets are pricing a high likelihood that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will soon normalise. 

"Our game-theory model suggests that a narrow agreement to reopen the strait is in both parties' best interests. This outcome remains our base case. But it also reveals that a misreading of the other party's intentions could lead to a further ratcheting-up of tensions before we get there."

Investors took some heart from strong earnings reports, with South Korean chip titan SK hynix posting a nearly 400 percent jump in net profit that hit a record for January-March thanks to the artificial intelligence boom.

That came after Tesla announced forecast-topping first-quarter profits and Texas Instruments offered a healthy outlook.

Bloomberg said almost 80 percent of the S&P 500 firms that have reported first-quarter earnings had beaten analyst estimates so far. 

- Key figures at 0230 GMT -

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $93.65 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $102.47 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 58,952.11 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 25,926.59

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,100.38

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1710 from $1.1709 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3501 from $1.3506

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.41 yen from 159.49 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.73 pence from 86.70 pence

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The Detroit Pistons used dominant defense and a third-quarter scoring spree to beat the Orlando Magic 98-83 on Wednesday and level their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series at one game apiece.

Cade Cunningham scored 27 points and handed out 11 assists and Tobias Harris added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Eastern Conference top seeds Detroit, who were stunned in game one of the best-of-seven series on Sunday.

Clearly stung by that upset on their home floor, the Pistons set an early defensive tone with seven of their 11 blocks in the first quarter, but it was tied 46-46 at halftime.

The Pistons opened the third quarter on an 11-0 scoring run to finally gain some separation and by the time they polished off a 38-16 third period they were in total control.

"We just played defense," Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "It's that simple. When we play defense at the level we're capable of, it triggers everything for us."

The Pistons, who had six players score in double figures, snapped an 11-game home losing streak in the playoffs that dated back to May 2008.

Now the series shifts to Orlando for game three on Saturday and game four on Monday.

Jalen Suggs scored 19 points and Paolo Banchero added 18 for Orlando, but the Magic were held to their lowest points total all season, lower than an 87-point total in a loss to Toronto in March.

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Marissa McCann was perfect. The junior threw the 13th perfect game in program history Wednesday, striking out 11 batters in a dominant 7-0 win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville at Mizzou Softball Stadium.

The last time a Missouri pitcher threw a perfect game was in 2022, when Lauren Krings did it against Bradley in six innings. McCann did it in seven.

“It almost made me want to tear up seeing the way that my teammates ran out of the dugout and were just so excited for me,” McCann said. “That just shows a lot about the closeness of this team.”

With six of Missouri’s final seven games coming against No. 6 Arkansas and No. 11 Tennessee, the win couldn’t have come at a better time. At 25-24, Missouri now sits one game above the .500 threshold required to qualify for an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament.

Following its weekend series loss to South Carolina and with a tough schedule ahead, Missouri wanted to add one more game to boost its chances of getting at or above .500 by the end of the season. The Tigers reached out to programs in the area that were willing to add an additional midweek game. SIUE answered the call and was added to the schedule.

Missouri wasted no time taking care of business. After Stefania Abruscato doubled in the first, Abby Hay drove her in with a single to score the Tigers' first run. In the third, Abruscato added one more with a solo home run to deep center field, extending the lead to 2-0.

The Tigers added two more in the fifth. Pinch running for Hay, Linny Ramsey scored from first after a wild pitch and throwing error. Claire Cahalan, who reached second on the same error, rounded third after Saniya Hill singled through the infield.

In the sixth, Abby Carr singled through the right side to drive in Addy Waits, who had reached on a walk. Hay then crushed a ball to deep center field, adding two more and giving MU a 7-0 lead.

While Missouri produced 12 hits on the day, the Tigers left seven runners stranded with multiple outs on the base paths. In the first, Waits was thrown out at home after rounding third on Abruscato’s double. In the second inning, Hill was cut down at second in an aggressive attempt at a double.

“We don’t get an opportunity to run as often against some of our SEC competition,” Anderson said. “It was kinda testing the limits a bit. Let’s do some things in game speed that we don’t normally get to do, to learn from them and be able to take advantage of opportunities later on.”

The Tigers open a three game road series against No. 6 Arkansas at 5 p.m. on Friday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The game will be available to watch on SEC Network+.

A meeting of G7 nations on the environment begins in Paris on Thursday but climate change has been left off the agenda to avoid a row with the United States.

The office of France's ecology minister Monique Barbut said the two-day meeting would focus on "less contentious issues" in an effort to appease the largest and most powerful G7 member. 

"We chose not to address the climate issue head-on... because the United States' positions on this subject are well known," the ministry said.

"We wanted to prioritise G7 unity, particularly to protect this forum."

President Donald Trump's administration has withdrawn the United States from global agreements on climate change and weakened environmental protections since he returned to office in 2025.

France, Italy, Canada, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom are sending their environment ministers to the meeting of the Group of Seven industrialised economies.

Washington will be represented by Usha-Maria Turner, assistant administrator for the Office of International and Tribal Affairs at the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Barbut's office said attendees would discuss themes including ocean conservation, biodiversity funding, and the transformation of dry areas into desert.

Activists were critical of the decision to leave climate off the agenda.

Gaia Febvre from activist group Climate Action Network said "a G7 moving at the pace of the United States cannot claim to respond to the crises of the century".

"By yielding to pressure, it weakens collective action and renounces its potential leading role," she told AFP.

It takes place just days before more than 50 countries meet in Colombia for the first-ever global conference dedicated to phasing out fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change.

- Forests and funding - 

France is spearheading an initiative to raise public and private finance for the protection of biodiversity and hopes to win the backing of other G7 nations.

Barbut's ministry hopes to announce $800 million in funding for national parks in around 20 African countries, according to sources close to the matter.

Jean Burkard, advocacy director at WWF France, welcomed this inclusion on the G7 agenda but said any funding "must be additional and not compensate" for cuts elsewhere to state budgets for nature. 

The G7 meeting also hopes to reach a political declaration on desertification and security, while sessions on oceans will look to strengthen an alliance on marine protected areas. 

Other sessions are planned, including on water pollution, while a visit to Fontainebleau woodland south of Paris is also scheduled Thursday as part of a session dedicated to forests.

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When President Donald Trump this week attacked Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, two of America's most prominent Black figures, he chose a particularly pejorative insult: "low IQ person."

Trump insults people all the time -- online, in speeches, in official statements and directly to the faces of some reporters.

But the "low IQ" jab, with distinct racial overtones in the United States, is especially jarring.

Trump attacked Jackson -- a double Harvard graduate and the first Black woman on the Supreme Court -- on Wednesday as "that new, Low IQ person, that somehow found her way to the bench."

He has similarly assailed ethnic minority Democratic lawmakers, including Jasmine Crockett, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Al Green, Rashida Tlaib and Maxine Waters.

While personally targeting Ilhan Omar -- a Minnesota representative born in Somalia -- the president has also broadly branded immigrants from the Horn of Africa nation as "low IQ people."

He has used the expression against perceived enemies who are white, such as former lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a staunch ally, as well as commentators Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, who have criticized his war against Iran.

But he has applied it more frequently against people of color -- particularly Black women -- including 2024 election rival Kamala Harris, whom he called "a moron," "stupid" and "a very low IQ individual."

The slur is especially offensive for the Black community, experts said, given how white supremacists have historically pushed claims that they have less brain capacity and are therefore more suited for manual labor.

"Trump's characterization of people of color as 'low IQ' is a racist dog whistle with a long history in the US," Karrin Vasby Anderson, a professor of communication studies at Colorado State University, told AFP.

During the periods of colonialism and 19th century slavery, "white male elites took for granted that they were cognitively superior to women and people of color and, thus, divinely appointed for leadership."

Trump's recent repeated use of the expression dovetails with the American far-right's apparent obsession with genetics and phrenology, a pseudoscience of cranium size and shape as a supposed marker of intelligence.

"An interest in phrenology has resurged during Trump's second term," Anderson said. 

- 'Deniability' -

Such so-called "race science" -- the discredited theory that IQ is influenced by racial traits -- has long simmered in far-right chatrooms, but is now entering more mainstream outlets with audiences numbering in the millions.

Speaking with a Republican lawmaker on "The Benny Show" podcast this month about how some "third world" immigrants are incompatible with American culture, rightwing host Benny Johnson appeared to suggest lack of mental capacity as a reason for suppressing migrant inflows.

"The average IQ in Somalia hovers around 70, and that's the threshold for mentally handicapped," said Johnson, who has six million subscribers on YouTube.

Robert Sternberg, a professor of psychology at Cornell University, told AFP that IQ tests get "glorified" but are only "moderately" useful in predicting real world outcomes. 

Regardless, the tests help give a scientific veneer to otherwise amateur or even racist discussion.

While far-right commentators including white nationalist Nick Fuentes -- who has dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago -- openly promote more extremist views, the president has largely avoided direct racist language.

The rhetorical advantage of using coded phrases like "low IQ" gives both speaker and listener "deniability," Anderson said.

"So, Trump and his audience can say that there's nothing racist about 'low IQ' because that label could be applied to anyone," she added. 

"When Trump uses it primarily against Black people, however, and when it's connected to this very specific history of how Black people have been framed in US culture since the 19th century, the white supremacists and casual racists in Trump's audience will respond favorably."

Meanwhile Jeffries, whom Trump branded a "totally low IQ person" on Monday, shot back:

"What's so ironic is that Donald Trump is clearly the dumbest person ever to sit at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," he told MS NOW.

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If four-time world champion Max Verstappen were to quit Formula One, as he has hinted on numerous occasions, it would be a "big loss" for the sport, his McLaren rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri said on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old Dutchman, who won four consecutive titles from 2021 to 2024 and narrowly missed a fifth last season, has struggled at the start of this campaign with Red Bull against Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.

Verstappen has repeatedly voiced his frustration at the sport's sweeping 2026 rules overhaul, which places greater emphasis on electric energy management in qualifying and races, as well as limiting car speeds.

"I think it would be a big loss for the sport as a whole. I think for us as drivers we want to race against the best and try and prove ourselves against the best," said Piastri.

The 25-year-old Australian said Verstappen had "shown his calibre in the last 10 years" and added that the Dutchman had been the benchmark "for the last five or six".

Norris, the 2025 world champion, believes Verstappen's exit would leave F1 a poorer place.

"It would be a shame for the sport, it would be a miss for the sport if that does happen, because he probably is one of the best drivers you'll see in Formula One ever," said Norris.

"He's always been very open to say what he thinks, whether you agree or not."

Verstappen has openly criticised his Red Bull car and likened the direction of F1 to "Formula E on steroids" or the video game "Mario Kart".

At last month's Japanese Grand Prix, he spoke of wanting to spend more time with his family and has increasingly turned his attention to endurance racing.

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Manchester City edged ahead of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League as a 1-0 victory at Turf Moor condemned Burnley to relegation on Wednesday.

The defeat confirmed the Clarets' third Premier League relegation in five seasons, consigning them to the Championship alongside Wolves next season.

Erling Haaland scored the only goal as Pep Guardiola's men ended the day top of the table for the first time since August, but the City boss was frustrated at his side's inability to win by a greater margin.

City go ahead of the Gunners only on goals scored, with five games left for both the title contenders.

"The chances were there. We created a lot. We made a fantastic game," said Guardiola. "We did everything after a demanding game three days ago."

However, City have on paper the tougher run-in as they aim to snatch a seventh league title in nine years.

Fresh from beating Arsenal 2-1 in what was billed as a title decider on Sunday, the visitors roared out of the blocks.

A stunning save by Martin Dubravka turned Rayan Cherki's shot onto the woodwork.

Haaland was then set free by Jeremy Doku and coolly chipped over the advancing Dubravka with just five minutes on the clock.

City continued to pepper Dubravka with efforts from distance, but Guardiola grew visibly angry as they let the tempo drop in their pursuit of more goals.

Burnley could even have been level by half-time as Zian Flemming dragged a glorious chance wide.

Haaland hit the post after the break, but City's failure to rack up a more convincing scoreline leaves the title race tantalisingly poised.

- 'Fallen a bit short' -

At the other end of the table, Burnley have to rebuild once more in the second tier.

A return of just 20 points from 34 games has left Scott Parker's men 13 adrift of safety with only four games remaining.

"We've fallen a bit short. The facts are we had to overachieve this year and we've not mananged to do that," said Parker.

"In certain moments we've lacked a certain quality about us and not managed to get enough points."

It is the fifth consecutive season that Burnley have either been relegated or promoted as they oscillate between the riches of the Premier League and the Championship.

Three wins from their opening nine games offered hope that they could join Sunderland and Leeds in bucking the trend of promoted sides being immediately relegated back to the second tier.

However, just one win in their 25 matches since has sealed their fate.

Parker has become a Championship specialist, also winning promotion in the past with Fulham and Bournemouth.

But the former Tottenham and Chelsea midfielder has consistently struggled at all three clubs to make an impact in the Premier League.

Bournemouth's challenge to qualify for Europe for the first time was dented by Sean Longstaff's 97th-minute equaliser for Leeds in a 2-2 draw.

Junior Kroupi's opener for Bournemouth was quickly cancelled out by a James Hill own goal.

Rayan's strike had the Cherries on course for the top six until Longstaff's volleyed leveller.

A point edges Bournemouth above Chelsea, who sacked Liam Rosenior on Wednesday, into seventh.

Leeds are now nine points clear of the relegation zone.

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Chip giant SK hynix logged a record quarterly net profit on Thursday thanks to the artificial intelligence boom, shrugging off concerns that the Middle East war could drag on the semiconductor industry.

Huge investments from governments and major technology companies are driving frenzied demand for the hardware that powers generative AI tools.

The South Korean firm posted net profit of 40.3 trillion won ($27.2 billion) in the first quarter, up nearly 400 percent year-on-year.

The figure smashed estimates of 29.4 trillion won in a Bloomberg analyst survey.

Revenue surpassed 50 trillion won for the first time in a single quarter, while operating profit nearly doubled compared to the previous three-month period.

"Despite the fact that first quarter is typically a seasonal downturn, strong demand persisted due to expanded investments in AI infrastructure," SK hynix said.

"As AI evolves from large model training to the stage of agentic AI, which repeatedly performs real-time inference across various service environments, the foundation for memory demand is expanding."

The AI boom has pushed up prices and shipments of conventional memory semiconductors, while demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, used in AI servers, has soared.

That has caused SK hynix shares to skyrocket by around 600 percent over the past year -- helping push Seoul's benchmark Kospi stock index to record highs.

- 'Strong momentum' -

Along with rival Samsung Electronics, SK hynix is supplying HBM to US industry titan Nvidia for its forthcoming cutting-edge "Vera Rubin" AI platform, expected to further boost the technology's capabilities.

While investors periodically get the jitters over how long the AI boom will last, analysts have said they do not expect the bubble to burst any time soon.

"We expect earnings momentum to remain strong" this year for SK hynix, Kim Young-gun at Mirae Asset Securities said in a note this month.

Reports suggest that memory chip suppliers like SK hynix are entering into long-term supply agreements of three years or more with big tech customers, he wrote.

"In some cases, customers are even seeking options to extend contract durations beyond the initial term, underscoring their emphasis on supply stability."

The rush to build AI data centres has sent orders soaring for HBM, which help the systems process vast amounts of data.

But as chipmakers prioritise the lucrative AI industry, they are producing fewer of the more workaday chips used in everyday consumer electronics like phones and laptops, pushing up device prices.

"Excess demand is expected to persist through the end of the year" for so-called DRAM and NAND memory chips, said a Shinhan Securities report from early April.

That allows "suppliers to maintain the upper hand in pricing power", it said, predicting strong annual results for SK hynix in 2026.

SK hynix said on Thursday that it "plans to continue rolling out new products across both DRAM and NAND flash to address the diversifying memory demand".

It is increasing its chipmaking capacity and plans to spend 19 trillion won to build a new factory in South Korea's Cheongju.

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