ST rises with a booming chip sector, all eyes on China

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The chip sector is booming in Europe, and STMicroelectronics is benefiting, posting the best performance on the Milan Stock Exchange (Piazza Affari), with a solid gain in the otherwise positive FTSE MIB . ASML , Asml , Infineon Technologies , and Be Semiconductor are also up. The entire tech sector is well positioned in Europe, with Nasdaq futures posting sharp gains following the rally in Chinese stocks , galvanized by the Financial Times' news that the Chinese government has asked domestic tech giants to halt orders for RTX Pro 6000D chips from US-based Nvidia.

In response, buying in the Chinese market has focused on chipmakers, with traders seeing greater growth potential for local manufacturers. Furthermore, the announced restrictions could impact the development of AI products by Chinese brands. Among the biggest gainers, Hua Hong Semiconductor in Hong Kong jumped more than 8%, while Semiconductor Manufacturing International rose 2.6% after gaining more than 8% intraday. A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Lin Jian, declined to confirm the new restrictions during a daily press conference. "We consistently oppose discriminatory practices that specifically target certain countries in the economic, trade, and technology sectors," he said. Some observers consider these restrictions a further step in the trade war between the two world powers, while others see them as a way for Beijing to incentivize the development and sales of its domestic companies , including the giant Huawei.

At the same time, Huawei—which is also among StM's top ten customers—announced the upcoming launch of new cutting-edge AI architectures. According to Huawei Vice President Eric Xu, these architectures will be " the most powerful in the world for many years to come." Xu said that Huawei will launch its Atlas 950 and Atlas 960 "supernodes" to "respond to an ever-increasing demand for computing power." The Atlas 950 is scheduled for launch in late 2026, while its advanced version, the Atlas 960, is expected in 2027.