Updates for afternoon trade

July 22 (Reuters) - South Korean shares surged 6% on Wednesday, as investors rotated back into AI plays ahead of major tech and chip earnings in the U.S. after last week's sharp selloff wiped billions off the sector.

The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 was up 316.67 points, or 4.69%, at 7,064.62 as of 0341 GMT, after climbing as much as 6.2% earlier in the day. The junior Kosdaq index .KQ11 advanced almost 5%.

The KOSPI exchange enforced a temporary suspension of program trading called "sidecar", triggered when the benchmark moves 5% on either side, the 11th such curb in 15 trading days this month.

It highlighted the heightened volatility in the market, weighted in favour of rival chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix at the heart of the global AI trade.

A Wall Street overnight rebound set the stage for Wednesday's jump: the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite .IXIC edged higher, while the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index .SOX jumped more than 5% for its best session in five weeks.

Results from Alphabet GOOGL.O and chipmakers Intel INTC.O and Texas Instruments TXN.O are expected to provide a readout on the health of the AI and semiconductor sectors. .N

"After the sharp decline in share price, largely driven by valuation, the positioning heading into major tech earnings should be less crowded," Jason Lui, Head of APAC Equity Derivative Strategy, BNP Paribas, said.

That will allow investors to "better evaluate the growth outlook of the companies from a fundamental perspective," Lui said.

On KOSPI, SK Hynix 000660.KS, the world's leading AI memory chipmaker, soared more than 9%, while Samsung Electronics 005930.KS advanced 6.6%, building on their gains from the previous session.

"Without these two companies, we would suggest that there is not much in the South Korean equity market to be excited by, at least from a longer-term earnings growth point of view," said William Bratton, head of cash equity research, APAC, BNP Paribas.

"The two most exciting companies in South Korea are also some of its most volatile, which creates risks for longer-term investors who are typically implementing buy-and-hold strategies."

In other stocks, Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS climbed as much as 7.14% and 3.11%, respectively. Battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS added 3.8%.

Of the total 915 traded issues, 692 shares advanced, while 194 declined. Foreign investors bought a net 2.01 trillion won ($1.36 billion) worth of shares, and have poured 2.71 trillion won over the past week through Tuesday.

The won was last quoted at 1,483 per U.S. dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, after rising to as much as 1,471 a dollar the previous day.

($1 = 1,483.1400 won)