Chips mostly lower as yields rise; ASML guidance buoys semiconductor equipment stocks
sankai

Semiconductor stocks mostly fell on Wednesday as the broader market fell in the face of the continued rise in interest rates, despite getting a brief reprieve from ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML).
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) was among the largest decliners, falling 2%, while other notable semiconductor companies saw more modest losses. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Nvidia (NVDA) and Qualcomm (QCOM) were among the stocks falling less than 1% in mid-day trading.
Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) saw fractional losses even as media reports suggested that the global foundry was discussing an expansion into Japan.
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) is already building a wafer fab plant in Kumamoto, Japan, with the multi-billion plant having been announced in November 2021. The new plant is slated to begin production by the end of 2024 and will use less advanced 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer processes. 
However, if Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) were to expand beyond the current plant, it would be for more advanced chips, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The company makes chips for a number of clients around the world, including Apple (AAPL), Nvidia (NVDA), Qualcomm (QCOM), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and others.
Separately on Wednesday, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) Chairman Mark Liu said rising tensions between the U.S. and China and Taiwan and China have ushered in "more serious" challenges for the chip industry.
Competitor GlobalFoundries (GFS) declined fractionally to $52.20 in mid-day trading.
ASML Holding (ASML) gained more than 5.6% after the Netherlands-based chip equipment company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and issued strong guidance.
Netherlands-based ASML (ASML) said it expects fourth-quarter sales to be between â¬6.1B and â¬6.6B, compared to â¬4.98B in the year-ago quarter, with gross margin expected to be around 49%.
The strong guidance buoyed other chip equipment makers, including Lam Research (LRCX), Applied Materials (AMAT) and KLA Corp. (KLAC), all of which gained at least 0.3%. 
Last month, investment firm UBS listed its "ABCs of tech" that were at an inflection point and selected ASML Holding (ASML) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) as two of its top tech stock picks.