TSMC shares flat as chipmaker expects lower capex

In today’s top stories, TSMC has warned that its capex will likely be at the lower end of a forecast range of $32bn–$36bn, due to weak demand for smartphones and computing chips. Elsewhere in the space, Intel is to sell off $1.5bn of Mobileye shares, the Israeli self-driving technology firm which it spun out last year. Swedish start-up Evroc is planning to raise as much as €3bn to challenge Amazon’s dominance in the cloud market. Net purchases of US stocks by retail investors totalled approximately $1.5bn on 30 and 31 May, the highest level in three months, while China’s ailing property development market could see more than a dozen stocks delisted from the country’s stock exchange.

Mobileye shares slip 6% as Intel sells stake

Chipmaker Intel [INTC] is to sell off $1.5bn of Mobileye [MBLY] shares. The share price of the Israeli self-driving technology firm, which was spun out by Intel last year, was down 6% in premarket trading on Tuesday. The sale will see Intel’s share of voting rights slip from 99.3% to 98.7%, and comes as the company faces increased competition in the self-driving market from Nvidia [NVDA] and Qualcomm [QCOM].

Cloud start-up challenges Amazon

Swedish start-up Evroc is planning to raise as much as €3bn to challenge Amazon’s [AMZN] dominance in the cloud market. Backed by EQT [EQT], Evroc wants to build eight data centres on the continent. “Europe’s dependency on US cloud services exposes us to the vulnerability that the data can be seen by US authorities,” CEO Mattias Astrom told Bloomberg, adding that relying on other countries to handle data could pose a threat to critical infrastructure.

AI sparks retail FOMO

Stock market ‘fear of missing out’ has returned, following Nvidia’s AI-fuelled share price rally. Net purchases of US stocks by retail investors totalled approximately $1.5bn on 30 and 31 May, the highest level in three months, according to VandaTrack data seen by the Financial Times. The “re-emergence of the US retail impulse into tech” is being led by young traders who prefer to invest in individual stocks rather than funds, wrote JPMorgan analysts.

TSMC sees lower capex on weak demand

Investors have poured into TSMC [TSM] this year, given that the company makes chips designed by Nvidia, and TSMC plans to double its advanced chip packaging capacity, chairman Mark Liu told reporters following the annual shareholders’ meeting on Tuesday. The company also warned that it expected its capex for 2023 to be at the lower end of a forecast range of $32bn–$36bn due to weak demand for smartphones and computing chips. TSMC shares were flat premarket, though are up 32% year-to-date.

Chinese property developers at risk of delisting

China’s ailing property development market could see more than a dozen stocks delisted from the country’s stock exchange. According to BOC International China analysts, the share prices of 10 developers have closed below ¥1 in recent sessions. If they were to close below this level for 20 consecutive sessions, then they would be removed, reported Bloomberg. Reports of a property stimulus package could help revive the industry, though.