Nomura refutes the "semiconductor market has peaked" theory: An "epic gap" is coming; price increases and upward profit revisions remain the biggest catalysts.
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In pre-market trading on the US stock market, semiconductor, memory, and optical communication sectors continued their decline, with Micron and SanDisk both falling by more than 5%.
According to Mars Finance, on July 8th, based on BIT (bit.com) market data, semiconductor stocks generally fell in pre-market trading in the US. Marvell Technology (MRVL) fell 4.46%, Arm (ARM) fell 3.51%, Intel (INTC) fell 3.47%, Lam Research (LRCX) fell 3.11%, and Applied Materials (AMAT) fell 2.85%. The memory sector saw the largest declines, with SanDisk (SNDK) falling 5.59%, Micron Technology (MU) falling 5.28%, Western Digital (WDC) falling 4.53%, and Seagate Technology (STX) falling 4.19%. Optical communication concept stocks also came under pressure, with Astera Labs (ALAB) down 4.57%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) down 4.47%, Credo (CRDO) down 4.42%, Corning (GLW) down 4.22%, Ciena (CIEN) down 3.69%, and Coherent (COHR) down 3.44%.
Huahong Grace Semiconductor surges over 10% to a record high; total market capitalization of A+H shares surpasses 360 billion yuan.
According to Mars Finance, Huahong Grace Semiconductor, a leading semiconductor foundry, extended its gains to 10% intraday, hitting a new all-time high, with its total market capitalization (A+H shares) exceeding 360 billion yuan. (Cailian Press)
US pre-market news at a glance: Samsung's earnings report triggered a collective weakness in semiconductor stocks in pre-market trading; SpaceX officially debuts on the Nasdaq 100 today.
According to BlockBeats, the following are key market news items before the US stock market opened on July 7th: 1. Samsung released its Q2 earnings forecast, showing an operating profit increase of over 1800% year-on-year, with single-quarter profits exceeding the total of the previous three years. Simultaneously, the company's revenue also increased by 129% year-on-year, reaching 171 trillion won. Affected by the semiconductor sell-off triggered by the "sell-off" of Samsung's earnings, chip-related technology stocks generally weakened in pre-market trading. The three major US stock futures indices showed mixed results in pre-market trading: Dow Jones futures rose 0.41%, Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.9%, and S&P 500 futures fell 0.09%. 2. SpaceX officially debuted on the Nasdaq 100 before the US stock market opened today, with Wall Street institutions collectively bullish. Most institutions believe that SpaceX is no longer just a traditional aerospace company, but a platform company with the potential for rocket launches, Starlink satellite internet, AI infrastructure, and future space computing. 3. DeepSeek is secretly developing its own inference chip. If successful, this would reduce reliance on external suppliers and give it more cost-effective hardware control. However, the project is still in its early stages and faces manufacturing and memory acquisition restrictions due to US export controls. 4. UBS recommends investors buy SK Hynix's upcoming American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and sell its South Korean shares, as these new shares are expected to trade at higher prices. 5. JPMorgan strategists say the recent weakness in semiconductor stocks should be seen as a buying opportunity, as the chip upcycle is not yet over, and truly meaningful new supply may not appear until 2028. 6. US ADP employment change for the week ending June 20 was 21,000, compared to 30,750 in the previous week. 7. BlackRock will launch an ETF tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, aiming to meet investors' growing demand for participation in the AI-driven stock market rally and challenge Invesco's dominant position. 8. Amazon is returning to the US bond market to raise funds for its artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company will issue eight benchmark bonds with maturities ranging from 3 to 40 years, raising at least $25 billion in the dollar bond offering. 9. Global brokerages have begun coverage research on Elon Musk's SpaceX (SPCX.O), and a preliminary consensus has formed on Wall Street: buy the stock. At least six brokerages, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and UBS, have given it a buy rating, optimistic about its long-term growth prospects, although doubts remain about profitability and valuation.
Omdia: China's semiconductor market will exceed $800 billion by 2026, with the memory chip market surging by 262.9%.
According to Omdia's latest report, "Semiconductor Applications Forecast Tool (AMFT) - China, Q2 2026," the Chinese semiconductor market is projected to grow at a significantly higher year-on-year rate of 92.9%, reaching $812.08 billion. This represents an overall upward revision of $265.6 billion, or 48.6%, compared to the previous report, "AMFT Shipments: China - Q4 2025 Update" (which projected a 31.26% growth rate for the Chinese semiconductor market, reaching $546.5 billion). Omdia's latest Q2 2026 data also shows that the Chinese semiconductor memory market is projected to grow at a significantly higher rate of 262.9%, reaching $449.6 billion. (Cailian Press)
The report shows that the US semiconductor industry is facing a shortage of highly skilled workers, with a projected gap of nearly 160,000 by 2030.
According to Mars Finance, a joint employer survey analysis conducted by McKinsey & Company, SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International), and the National Science Foundation shows that the shortage of highly skilled workers across the United States is worsening, with the projected shortage of up to 157,000 full-time skilled workers by 2030. This could delay the construction of multi-billion dollar new semiconductor factories across the country and constrain future chip production. (Cailian Press)
Goldman Sachs maintains Nvidia's $285 price target, valuation already reflects ASIC market share risk.
According to BlockBeats, on July 7th, Goldman Sachs maintained its "Buy" rating and $285 price target for Nvidia, stating that the stock's current valuation already largely reflects the risk of market share loss due to its self-developed AI chips and increased competition. Nvidia has recently underperformed the broader semiconductor sector. While chip stocks generally rebounded on Monday, Nvidia's gains were limited; year-to-date, its performance has also significantly lagged behind AI hardware companies like Micron, AMD, Intel, and Marvell. The main market concern is that major customers like Alphabet and Amazon are pushing their self-developed ASIC chips to third parties while still purchasing Nvidia GPUs. Meanwhile, increased CPU investment in AI workloads is also giving AMD and Intel more growth opportunities. However, Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider believes that Nvidia's risk discount is already too large. He expects that even with some market share gained by ASICs and some incremental growth from competitors, Nvidia's revenue could still achieve strong growth next year. The Vera Rubin platform, which will enter mass production in the second half of the year, will be key to determining whether the company can widen the performance gap again.