Chip buying is back on the rise; St shines in Milan
The spotlight is on the possibility that China might open up to Nvidia chips and the success of SK Hynix’s share flotation in the United States
Le ultime da Radiocor
***easyJet: Castlelake prende atto di mossa Apollo, valuta opzioni
Wall Street: super debutto (+14%) per il colosso sudcoreano dei chip SK Hynix
Borsa: Europa in ordine sparso in vista trimestrali, Milano +0,4% con balzo Nexi
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Once again, semiconductors are capturing the market’s attention. Among the news stories reigniting interest are rumours that China may allow leading artificial intelligence companies to purchase limited quantities of Nvidia chips, signalling a possible opening towards advanced US technologies, and the success of SK Hynix’s share flotation in the United States.
Following the sharp downturn in the tech sector at the start of the week – which came in the wake of Samsung’s slump and concerns over high valuations – the tech sector is back in the spotlight, albeit with a more selective focus that favours semiconductors in particular. Already on Wall Street the previous day, following a weak session, the Nasdaq closed higher, outperforming the more traditional sectors. In Europe, the sector-specific Eurostoxx rose by 1.6 per cent, with chips – in particular – seeing strong buying. Stmicroelectronics on the Milan Stock Exchange rose by over four points, whilst Prysmian by around three, whilst in Amsterdam, ASM International rose by 3.8 per cent, BE Semiconductor by 3.7 per cent and ASML Holding by 2.7 per cent. In Frankfurt, Siltronic soared by 10 per cent.
According to press reports, the Chinese authorities have reportedly informed companies such as Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek that they will be able to purchase a portion of Nvidia’s H200 processors, which are used to develop artificial intelligence models. To obtain authorisation, the companies will have to specify the number of chips required and justify their use. If confirmed, this would signal a significant easing of restrictions on the most sought-after US technology, as well as robust demand for AI chips.
Another boost for the sector comes from the results of SK Hynix’s US IPO, with demand exceeding the supply by more than seven times. The price will be set today. According to calculations by Bloomberg, the offering is expected to raise around $24.5 billion, making it one of the largest ever, second only to Alibaba’s $25 billion flotation. South Korea’s SK Hynix is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of memory chips, alongside Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology, and is Nvidia’s main partner for chips used in artificial intelligence.
