Shares of global semiconductor companies rose on Wednesday, boosted by some positive earnings in the industry and reports that U.S. export restrictions to China may be loosened.
AMD The company's shares rose more than 9% in U.S. premarket trading after the company released its second-quarter financial report, making it one of the morning's big winners. AMD's data center business is growing strongly, driven by sales of graphics processing units (GPUs) used to train artificial intelligence models.
The strong data gives a boost to other U.S. chipmakers, including rivals Nvidiaup about 5% in premarket trading, and Qualcomm.
Also in terms of profit, SamsungMemory Chip, the world's largest memory chip company, reported on Wednesday that its second-quarter operating profit increased by 1,458.2% year-on-year. Some of its chips are also key to artificial intelligence applications. South Korea's Samsung shares closed up 3.58%. Shares of rival SK Hynix also closed up 3%.
But it's not just profits that are boosting semiconductor stocks. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the United States is considering expanding a rule that could restrict foreign companies from exporting semiconductor-related equipment to China, but allies such as Japan, the Netherlands and South Korea may be excluded.
In this illustration taken on March 6, 2023, a smartphone displaying the AMD logo is placed on a computer motherboard.
Florence | Reuters