AMD, Nvidia Lead Chip-Stock Rally as Semiconductor Tariff Worries Ease
Key Takeaways
Advanced Micro Devices (
AMD
), Nvidia (
NVDA
), and other chip stocks
rallied Monday
following reports the Trump administration
may not target the semiconductor industry
as part of the tariffs scheduled to take effect on April 2.
AMD shares were up nearly 8% in recent trading, making it one of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500. Nvidia shares climbed close to 4%, while NXP Semiconductors (
NXPI
) added 5%. Micron Technology (
MU
) and Qualcomm (
QCOM
) shares were also higher, with the
PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index
(SOX) climbing over 3%.
Over the weekend,
The Wall Street Journal
reported that tariffs targeting specific sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors are unlikely to be announced on April 2. Reciprocal taxes on targeted nations are still expected to go into effect.
Chip Stocks Have Had a Tough Start to 2025
Worries that semiconductors could be subject to tariffs of 25% or more, as Trump
previously suggested
, have weighed on chip stocks in recent weeks, with the SOX index down 5% for 2025 so far. Investors also have
been wary
further export curbs could drag on chip sales.
The emergence of a lower-cost model from Chinese AI startup
DeepSeek
has also raised concerns about how much Big Tech firms will invest in AI infrastructure. However, many of America's biggest tech giants recently announced plans to boost their spending, with Amazon saying it expects to
spend more than $100 billion
in capital expenditures in 2025, following similar announcements from Google parent Alphabet (
GOOGL
), Microsoft (
MSFT
), and Meta Platforms (
META
).