Semiconductor shares surge after Trump lifts Huawei ban
Shares of top semiconductor manufacturers are trending higher in pre-market trading on Wall Street on Monday after President Trump lifted a U.S. sales ban on Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
Among those surging are Skyworks Solutions Inc., Western Digital Corp. and Micron Technology, Inc.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWKS | SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS INC. | 96.11 | -1.51 | -1.55% |
| WDC | WESTERN DIGITAL CORP. | 66.05 | -2.27 | -3.32% |
| MU | MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC. | 106.77 | -5.16 | -4.61% |
Over the weekend, Trump tweeted that the lifting of the ban imposed in May was done “at the request of our High Tech companies.” Google was among the firms reportedly lobbying the administration to reverse course on the measure.
The White House has moved aggressively to label Huawei as a threat to national security, including threatening to withhold intelligence from partners should they use equipment from the firm, but Trump said the latest move would not impact existing protections.
It's unclear whether Huawei will be removed from the Commerce Department's "entity list," which restricts companies from purchasing U.S. goods. An agency spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Investors appeared to welcome the move, which signaled a restart of trade talks between the U.S. and China. The two countries also agreed to withhold the imposition of any new tariffs as the negotiations continue.
But some lawmakers criticized the decision to backtrack on Huawei.
“If President Trump has in fact bargained away the recent restrictions on #Huawei, then we will have to get those restrictions put back in place through legislation,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted on Sunday, adding that the measure would pass “with a large veto proof majority.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., also warned that removing Huawei from the entity list would "dramatically undercut our ability to change China’s unfair trades practices."
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As a result of the ban, which one executive said could cost the company as much as $30 billion in sales, Huawei canceled the launch of a new laptop.