Semiconductor shares up on new spending outlook
biz.yahoo.com
NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - Shares of semiconductor equipment makers boosted the chip sector on Friday after Taiwan's largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd.(2330.TW)., formally stated its plans to raise the amount it will spend on new plants to $2.6 billion.
Taiwan Semi's new capital expenditure estimates prompted Bear Stearns to revise its Asia (excluding Japan) 2002 semiconductor capital expenditure estimate to $15.7 billion. The 2002 estimate was 14 percent higher than 2001's capital expenditure and much higher than the firm's prediction back in December of an 18 percent decline for 2001.
The Philadelphia Stock Exchange semiconductor index (^SOXX - news), which includes makers of microchips and microchip-making equipment, rose 2.27 percent on Thursday.
Shares of Taiwan Semi, (TSM - news) which in recent years has set the pace for spending facilities used to produce advanced new chips used for computers, mobile phones and consumer electronics, shot up 90 cents, nearly 5 percent, to $20.74 in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
``You have the semiconductors, the equipment side especially just looking like they want to run to the moon,'' Bear Stearns Tech Strategist Sal Catrini said. ``We may have a technical situation that take these stocks up violently in the next couple of weeks.''
Shares of companies that make equipment chipmakers use to produce semiconductors also gained ground. Shares of Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT - news) were up $1.83, nearly 4 percent, to $53.81. Shares of Lam Research Corp. (LRCX - news) were up $1.35, also near 5 percent, to $29.55, and shares of Novellus Systems Inc.(NVLS - news) climbed $1.68, about 3 percent, to trade at $53.78.
``If you look at some long-term charts, it looks like that with a lot of these growth stock we've undone the damage from September,'' Catrini said. ``That's the psychology behind a lot of this. The upshot of it is, fundamentally, some of the stuff looks like it's baked in, but we could have some of big technical situation.'' |
