LONDON (Reuters) – European semiconductor stocks fell on Friday after U.S. chipmaker Broadcom warned a U.S.-China trade conflict and export restrictions on Huawei were causing a broad slowdown in demand for chips.
Shares in ASML, STMicroelectronics, Siltronic, ASM International, Infineon, and AMS tumbled by 2.7% to 6.6% as the warning reignited fears chipmakers would not keep to their promises of a second-half recovery.
“It’s not just Huawei, it’s deeper than that. Visibility is shot. OEMs [carmakers] aren’t ordering. Inventory concerns, which were supposed to ease, have not gone away,” said a trader.
“Goodbye H2 recovery hopes!” he added.
The falls in chipmakers – which make components used in sensors for smartphones, cars, and medical equipment – drove Europe’s tech sector index down 1%, the worst-performing sector in Europe on Friday morning.
They followed an overnight fall in U.S. semiconductor stocks after California-based Broadcom’s warning of a broad slowdown in chip demand.
The CEO of chipmaker Micron Technology also said the ban on Huawei brings uncertainty and disturbance to the semiconductor industry.
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