Chip Stocks Face "Late Spring Chill" as Asian and European Chip Sectors Fall in Tandem

Glonghui, January 8th｜Impacted by Samsung Electronics' preliminary results, ASM and BE Semiconductor led the decline among European chip stocks, despite the Korean company stating that it expects fourth-quarter operating profit to triple. Analysts at Panmure Liberum pointed out that as the world's largest memory chip supplier, Samsung Electronics' warning about memory costs and the knock-on effects on technology availability have dampened investor confidence in Asian tech stocks. European chip stocks followed suit, with ASM International and BE Semiconductor falling by 4.4% and 2.55% respectively. ASML, which has partial business cooperation with Samsung, dropped 1.6%. However, the sector has surged strongly so far this year, with analysts noting continued growth in memory demand and persistent chip shortages; ASM International has risen 22% in the first four trading days of this year.