Global stocks pushed higher on Wednesday as momentum in AI and memory chips fueled a continued risk-on rally. The MSCI All Country World Index, South Korea's Kospi, and Japan's Nikkei all hit record highs.

The rally was led by chip stocks, withSK Hynix and Micron's market values topping $1 trillion for the first time. Sentiment from Tuesday into Wednesday was fueled by a bullish note from UBS analyst Tim Arcuri on Micron, which ended 19% higher in the US.

Sentiment on Wednesdaywas boosted afterSamsung'slargest union approved a labor deal that gives chip workers an average bonus of roughly$340,000, avoiding what could have been a devastating strike that might have disrupted the global memory chip supply chain amidhistoric demand from data center buildouts.

Samsung and its labor union have buried the hatchet and signed a new wage agreement earlier today. This means the company will not face any chip production disruption.The signing ceremony took place earlier today at Samsung Electronics’ The UniverSE learning center in Giheung,…pic.twitter.com/XIybSV0Cdg

Nikkei Asiareported that the labor deal signed earlier this morning set aside 10.5% of the company's operating profit for the worker bonus pool.

Nikkei Asia outlined four important facts of the wage deal that averts chip strikes:

Under the terms of the agreement, the bonus will be paid to 78,000 employees in Samsung's device solutions division, which produces all types of semiconductors.

Employees in the memory business unit are expected to reap the biggest share, as they generate the largest portion of the company's profits. Assuming Samsung's memory business unit reports 200 trillion won of operating profit this year, its employees are expected to be paid an average bonus of 600 million won in the form of company shares in January 2027.

They can sell one-third of those shares immediately. But they must hold one-third of them for at least a year and the remainder for two years.

Other units, meanwhile, will be paid far less. For instance, employees in the foundry unit, which produces contract chips for outside customers, are expected to get bonuses of 200 million won each. The same rules as for the device solutions business apply.

Source: ZeroHedge News