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(Bloomberg) — Technology stocks sank as new US government restrictions on the export of Nvidia Corp. chips to China and a disappointing report from ASML Holding NV fanned trade war concerns, wiping out $155 billion in market value for the two companies alone.
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Nvidia (NVDA) fell as much as 7.1% in US premarket trading after the chipmaker warned it will report around $5.5 billion in related charges during the fiscal first quarter, contributing to a 1.4% decline in Nasdaq 100 futures. Dutch chip-equipment maker ASML (ASML) slid as much as 7.6%. The selloff in semiconductor stocks over the past three months has already wiped out about $2 trillion in market capitalization.
President Donald Trump’s administration has barred Nvidia from selling its H20 chip in China, an escalation of Washington’s tech battle with Beijing. ASML later added to investor anxiety by posting orders that missed expectations and saying that it doesn’t know how to quantify the impact of recent tariff announcements.
The latest developments show how tariffs are already wreaking havoc on global companies, while the trade war is extending beyond mere import taxes as well. The fallout could weigh on chip-sector earnings and also set back China’s ambitions to compete on the global tech stage. ASML’s drop weighed on Europe’s technology sector, with losses across chip equipment peers pushing the Stoxx 600 Technology Index about 2.5% lower.
The H20 restrictions are “driven by concerns over China’s rise in the electronics sector, and in that sense, it is likely to become a permanent policy,” said Tomo Kinoshita, global market strategist at Invesco Asset Management. “It is expected to have a significant negative impact on semiconductor supply chain.”
Trump’s war on trade is prompting economists to scale back their forecasts for GDP growth worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from smart-phone demand to computing. Even before Washington slapped additional tariffs on much of the world — only to roll them back shortly after — many industry analysts had questioned whether big tech firms from Microsoft Corp. to Meta Platforms Inc. will continue to buy Nvidia Corp. chips at the same pace in 2025.
Among key suppliers, Korean memory maker SK Hynix Inc. slumped 3.7% Wednesday. Top foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell 2.5% ahead of results on Thursday. Japanese chip-equipment maker Advantest Corp. (6857.T) dropped 6.6%, extending its fall after ASML’s statement.