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Investing.com - Semiconductor stocks rose on Tuesday after Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) announced that it had received a green light to once again sell its artificial intelligence-enhanced chip in China.
Before the start of U.S. trading, shares of Nvidia had jumped by by more than 5%, lifting peers like Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Micron (NASDAQ:MU), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL).
In Europe, regional chipmaking powerhouses like ASML (AS:ASML), ASM International (AS:ASMI), BE Semiconductor (AS:BESI), Infineon (ETR:IFXGn), and STMicroelectronics (EPA:STMPA) also rose.
Nvidia said on Monday that it will resume selling its H20 processor in China “soon,” as trade relations improve between Washington and Beijing, and after CEO Jensen Huang met with officials from both sides.
The AI-darling also announced a new graphical processing unit for China which it claimed was ideal for artificial intelligence smart factories and logistics.
Nvidia is “filing applications to sell" its H20 again and "the U.S. government has assured [...] that licenses will be granted,” the world’s most valuable listed company said in a statement.
The move comes after Washington lifted several restrictions on the export of chip technology to China, having recently allowed chip design majors including Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) to restart sales in the country.
"[U]ncertainty around the U.S./China relationship [is] one key hurdle that could deter China’s offshore market in the near term, as we approach the August 12th U.S./China tariff truce expiration," analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said in a note, referencing the possible date when heightened U.S. levies could snap back into effect.
They added that "[w]hile it is too early to conclude," the developments "indicate some early signs" that U.S.-China trade relations were on the "right track."
Earlier this year, the White House had imposed even stricter licensing requirements for sales to China, effectively blocking Nvidia from selling its H20 chip in the nation. Nvidia had forecast at least $5.5 billion in charges due to the increased restrictions, underlining the importance of China to its operations.
But Washington and Beijing in May and June agreed to substantially lower their respective tariffs against each other, sparking hopes of a prolonged trade truce.