Chip stocks tumble on fears of tighter China curbs, Trump's Taiwan comments
Updates share movement; adds analyst comment in paragraphs 9, 10
By Arsheeya Bajwa
July 17 (Reuters) -U.S. chip stocks fell more than 4% on Wednesday after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump sounded lukewarm about defending Taiwan and a report that Washington is mulling tighter curbs on export of advanced semiconductor technology to China.
The U.S. has told allies it is considering using the most severe trade curbs available if companies continue giving Beijing access to advanced semiconductor technology, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.
U.S.-listed shares of the Dutch chipmaking equipment provider ASML Holding ASML.AS fell about 9% following the report even as it beat second-quarter profit estimates.
Shares of AI heavyweight Nvidia NVDA.O fell about 4%. Smaller rival AMD AMD.O shed 6.3% and Qualcomm QCOM.O, Micron Technology MU.O, Broadcom AVGO.O and Arm Holdings ARM.O were all down more than 5%.
Intel bucked the trend, trading up 5%, with analysts pointing to its efforts to build plants in the U.S. Smaller contract manufacturer GlobalFoundries GFS.O also soared more than 11%.
The Biden administration has moved aggressively in recent months to curb Chinese access to cutting-edge chip technology, including sweeping restrictions issued in October to limit exports of AI processors designed by firms including Nvidia.
The curbs have dented U.S. chipmakers' sales to China. Nvidia's revenue from China stood at about 18% of its total revenue in the quarter ended April 28, compared to 66% in the year-ago period.
Former U.S. President Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay the U.S. for its defense as it does not give the country anything, sending TSMC's U.S.-listed shares down 6%.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is the world's largest contract chip maker and leading supplier of advanced processors that power everything from AI applications to fighter jets.
Taiwan plays an outsized role in the global chip supply chain as it is home to some of the world's biggest and smaller semiconductor makers, with analysts warning that any conflict over the island may shatter the global economy.
"There's no doubt this would cause significant short-term disruption but at the same time the opening of new facilities in the likes of Europe and the United States could see the industry's reliance on Asia start to subside over the next few years," said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Chip stocks have rallied this year as investors bet on generative AI and the hardware that supports it. The Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX has climbed 39% in 2024, outperforming the benchmark S&P 500's index .SPX 18.8% gain.
INTEL POSSIBLE BENEFICIARY
Intel has been investing heavily to restore its lost manufacturing edge since it fell behind TSMC. It is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of U.S. Chips Act with $19.5 billion in federal grants and loans and hopes to secure another $25 billion in tax breaks.
"Intel is chasing business from other chip designers in its foundries so it could be a beneficiary. But the economic returns from that part of the business are yet to be proven," said Nathan.
Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila
Mga Kaugnay na Asset
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.
