LG Electronics' shares surged 4 percent on Thursday, boosted in part by a U.S. court decision to stay an import ban on mobile phones containing Qualcomm chips, but analysts warned the impact would be limited.

Expectations for strong earnings in the July-September quarter were also helping the shares, at a time when investors are souring on chip makers, as the sector is dealing with slumping prices for memory chips used in personal computers.

The more important impact today on LG Electronics' shares is the improving profitability for the third quarter, said James Kim, an analyst at Lehman Brothers, adding that he expected improvements in key units such as mobile phones and home appliances.

Moreover, the U.S. court ruling on the import ban was not seen giving LG Electronics a significant boost because the United States represents a small portion of LG Electronics' mobile phone sales.

Also, the previous ban had applied to imports of new high-speed wireless phones containing Qualcomm chips, further limiting the impact on South Korean firms.

LG Electronics shares rose 4.1 percent to 76,000 won as of 0517 GMT, compared with a 0.7 percent gain in the main KOSPI.

Imports of Qualcomm chips had been banned by the International Trade Commission after it found the U.S. firm had infringed a patent held by Broadcom Corp.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which would also be allowed to resume U.S. exports containing chips made by Qualcomm, fell 1.3 percent to 553,000 won as concerns over the company's memory chip business offset the impact of the ruling.

Electronics LG LG electronics Qualcomm