Asm International soars in Amsterdam, the entire European chip segment on the ropes

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Europe's tech sector was driven by Asm International's surge after positive results in the first three months of the year and better-than-expected forecasts with further growth in the second half of 2026. The Dutch chip equipment manufacturer's stock - in the first part of the session on 22 April - rose about 9 percentage points on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, dragging up the other two Dutch companies, Be Semiconductor (+2.4%) and Asml Holding (+1.4%). Stmicroelecetronics is among the best stocks at Piazza Affari (+1.7%) and in Paris (+1.9%), as is Infineon (+3%) in Frankfurt. Reflecting this, Prysmian (+1.2% in Milan) and Schneider Electric (+1.5% in Paris) also rose.

Driving Asm International is thestrong demand for its equipment driven by investments in artificial intelligence. For the market, this also means more investment intechnology infrastructure and data centres, which are highly energy intensive. In more detail, Asm International ended Q1 2026 with revenues up 3% to EUR 863 million, at the high end of guidance, also recording an acceleration in demand for AI-based solutions, underpinned by strong corporate investments to support the long-term expansion of AI infrastructure. The Dutch group's oulook forecasts 'continued growth', with second quarter 2026 revenues of EUR 980 million, and the second half of the year is expected to be stronger than the first.