Chip stocks continue to rise in Asia ignoring Intel sales forecasts
Asian semiconductor stocks edged higher, beating the worst forecast from Intel Corp., as traders and investors hoped for a recovery.
The Bloomberg Asia Pacific Semiconductors Index added 0.6%, led by South Korean memory maker Samsung Electronics Co., which jumped more than 1%.
Intel’s poor expectations were due to weak demand for PCs, but demand from industries including automobiles is strong, and prices for cloud computing chips are on the rise.
Intel’s forecasts were among the most unfavorable.
Among Intel importers, case substrate maker Ibiden Co. cut the drop from 3% to less than 1%. At the same time, Tokyo Electron Ltd. slipped as Japan and the Netherlands were poised to join US sanctions on China.
Shares of Asian chips have risen this month. Samsung's shares are rising despite a strong decline in profits.
Intel's stock dropped nearly 10% after the company's sales guidance for the current quarter was released. The company has suffered from falling demand from PC buyers and fierce competition in the server hardware market.
One of the most important chipmakers in the world, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., is expecting weak sales in the short term but small gains throughout the year as demand for server chips picks up.
