European chipmakers fall amid Nvidia charge on new U.S. chip rules, ASML outlook

  • April 16, 2025

Investing.com - Shares in European chipmakers sank on Wednesday, dragged down by a warning from Nvidia that new U.S. export licensing requirements will lead to a multi-billion dollar charge and a tariff-clouded outlook from Dutch player ASML (AS: ASML ).

In early European trading, regional names like ASM International (AS: ASMI ), STMicroelectronics (EPA: STMPA ), and Infineon (OTC: IFNNY ) Technologies (ETR: IFXGn ) were all lower. U.S.-listed shares in NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ: NXPI ) also dropped in premarket U.S. trading.

Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA ) stock price tumbled by more than 7% before the opening bell on Wall Street after the artificial intelligence darling said it will incur a charge of up to $5.5 billion related to new U.S. chip export controls on China.

The announcement follows the U.S. government’s decision to mandate licenses for exports of Nvidia’s high-end H20 AI chip to its key Chinese market. The H20 is the main AI chip Nvidia is permitted to sell in China under export restrictions originially imposed by the Biden administration, as Washington has sought to close off Beijing’s access to cutting-edge advancements in AI tech.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Commerce Department said late on Tuesday that it was also issuing updated licensing requirements for exports of processors like Nvidia-peer AMD’s MI308 and similar products. The spokesperson said the move is in line with a directive from U.S. President Donald Trump to "safeguard [...] national and economic security."

AMD (NASDAQ: AMD ) shares slumped premarket, as well as rivals Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO ), Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI ) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC ). U.S.-listed shares of major Nvidia supplier TSMC (NYSE: TSM ) dipped as well.

ASML -- the world’s biggest supplier of computer chip-making equipment -- warned that Trump’s sweeping tariff policies were raising the level of murkiness around its outlook this year and in 2026. The company’s net bookings in the first quarter also missed expectations.

Amsterdam-listed shares in the group fell by more than 5%.