Intel Corp. led a broad rally in semiconductor stocks on Thursday, with its shares surging about 12% after US President Donald Trump claimed Apple had agreed to work with the chipmaker to design and manufacture chips in the United States.
Intel shares rose to more than $134 in early trading, putting the stock on track for a record closing high if gains hold through the session. The rally extended the company's remarkable turnaround, with the stock having surged fourfold since the US government announced a 10% stake in the company last August.
Neither Intel nor Apple has officially confirmed Trump's claim.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the Apple-Intel partnership marked another step in the US effort to revive domestic semiconductor manufacturing, providing a major boost to investor sentiment around the once-dominant chipmaker.
The optimism spread across the semiconductor sector, with investors piling into AI- and chip-related stocks despite lingering concerns over US monetary policy.
Marvell Technology and Micron Technology each gained more than 5%, while AI heavyweight Nvidia advanced over 1.2%. The broader semiconductor space also strengthened, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF climbing more than 4.6%.
The prospect of a partnership between Apple and Intel comes at a time when demand for advanced semiconductors continues to accelerate, driven by artificial intelligence applications across consumer devices and data centres.
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Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said earlier this week that the company plans to raise product prices to offset higher costs of memory and storage chips, underscoring the supply-demand imbalance in the semiconductor industry.
The AI-driven surge in chip demand has supported valuations across the sector, with investors betting that semiconductor manufacturers will remain among the biggest beneficiaries of the next wave of technology spending.
Wall Street also traded higher, with technology stocks leading gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% in early trading, while the S&P 500 gained 1.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed, advancing 1.4%.
Elsewhere, shares of video platform Rumble jumped 13% after the company rebranded as RUM Group and completed its acquisition of German AI cloud company Northern Data.
Smith & Wesson surged more than 23% after reporting stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter sales.
Meanwhile, SpaceX shares extended their recent decline, falling another 4% after a sharp sell-off in the previous session ended the stock's post-IPO winning streak. Investors, however, expect the stock could receive fresh demand once it is added to major market indices tracked by billions of dollars in passive funds.
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