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Technology Stocks : Lam Research (LRCX, NASDAQ): To the Insiders -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: FJB who wrote (4122)	5/25/2000 8:58:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

Euro chip-makers sizzle as Intel confirms demand (UPDATE: Adds Intel CEO comment, updates stock prices) By Sophie Walker PARIS, May 25 (Reuters) - Chips were back on the menu as investors scrambled for European semiconductor stocks on Thursday, a day after industry giant Intel Corp (NasdaqNM:INTC - news) spurred a Nasdaq rebound with news it planned to spend $2 billion to boost production. France's STMicroelectronics , number-one player in Europe, led the charge, snapping back from a nine-percent closing loss on Wednesday to open up eight percent, before settling to a six percent gain at 61.45 euros by 1100 GMT. British chip designer ARM Holdings (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: ARM.L) rocketed 9.27 percent, and Dutch semiconductor maker ASM Lithography climbed 3.3 percent. German chipmaker Infineon Technologies was up 4.7 percent and semiconductor machinery maker Aixtron added 3.5 percent. The ripples spread out to Swiss Esec Holding , which makes machines for semiconductor production, up two percent, and Micronas , a maker of application-specific chip systems, which climbed 1.7 percent. ``Anything high-tech has been so volatile that people are beginning to draw lines through some and look for the sensible options,'' said a senior European equity salesman in Paris. ``They are realising that the likes of Intel and STM produce something that is essential -- one cannot do without these chips,'' he added. Intel's president and chief executive officer Craig Barrett added on Thursday he expected a short supply in the industry for another 12 months as components run short. He told a news conference in New Delhi that investments made to address the shortage would continue for a while. MARKET UPTURN INTACT AMID BOOMING DEMAND Intel, the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, said on Wednesday it would spend $2 billion to boost microprocessor production at its New Mexico plant to meet booming demand. The news helped spur a 3.35 percent rise in the tech-laden Nasdaq. STM, which said earlier this year it planned an outlay of some $2.5 billion in capital investment, provided another fillip when it told investors at a field trip to its Rousset plant on Wednesday that the market was still doing well, sources said. The French-Italian chipmaker has said it expects the semiconductor market to grow around 30 percent this year, and that it expects to outstrip that on the back of booming consumer and telecom markets. Analysts said the market was also realising that a sell-off earlier in the week had perhaps been overdone. ``There are two factors at play here -- firstly the fact that Intel said it would boost production proves that the upturn is still going strong, and secondly the fact that the markets completely overreacted to U.S. book-to-bill at the beginning of the week,'' said one analyst who declined to be named. ``Basically, someone in the States sniffed, and the markets caught a cold. We have been sending out notes saying it was an exaggeration,'' the analyst added. The book-to-bill data showed North American semiconductor makers posted $142 in orders for every $100 of products shipped in April, compared with an upwardly revised ratio in March of $146 in orders on average for every $100 in shipments. Earnings tracker IBES said on Thursday that it saw increased analyst optimism in the industry, noting there had been three recommendation upgrades for every downgrade in the past month. It said in a research note almost 74 percent of semiconductor companies it tracked beat IBES consensus figures for their first-quarter results. Estimates for Q2 were up 2.2 percent as analysts took account of the robust outlook, it added. ``Looking at fiscal year 2000 earnings growth expectations, semiconductors are also found at the top of the list. For 2000, earnings are expected to grow 76.0 percent,'' it said.