1. The U.S. stock market declined on Wednesday, ending a three-day rally, as investors weighed Fed Chair Powell's remarks and awaited clearer market direction; 2. Mixed signals persist, with optimism in certain sectors offset by broader caution, while Goldman Sachs notes the S&P 500 is near fair value with earnings growth expected to drive future gains; 3. Elevated valuations across most S&P 500 sectors reflect optimism about earnings and macroeconomic stability but raise risks of a pullback if growth underperforms.
Recent #Market Decline news in the semiconductor industry
➀ The telecom equipment industry experienced its biggest decline in 20 years with a 14% drop in total equipment revenue in 2024;
➁ The decline was driven by factors such as excess inventory, challenging macro environment, and difficult 5G comparisons;
➂ Despite the decline, Huawei and Ericsson saw improvements in their positions in the global market.
➀ Due to weak demand for PC, smartphones, and other terminal products, as well as Chinese buyers expanding the use of domestic DRAM, global DRAM demand has slowed down, and the DRAM price in January 2023 fell by 6% month-on-month.
➁ The wholesale price of DDR4 8Gb products in January 2025 was about $1.75 per unit, and the price of smaller capacity 4Gb products was about $1.34 per unit, both down 6% from the previous month, marking the fifth consecutive month of decline. The 8Gb products saw the largest decline in 10 months (since March 2023), and the 4Gb products saw the largest decline in 9 months (since April 2023).
➂ DRAM demand is about 50% from PCs and servers, and about 35% from smartphones. The top three DRAM manufacturers in the world are Samsung of South Korea, SK Hynix, and Micron of the United States, followed by Nanya Technology and Winbond Electronics of Taiwan. In these companies' revenue, the market share in China is estimated to be 20-40%. However, with the continuous rise of Chinese domestic DRAM chip manufacturer Changxin Storage, Chinese manufacturers are increasingly adopting domestic DRAM.
1. South Korea's President declared martial law, leading to political tensions; 2. The MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) dropped 2.35% due to the situation; 3. The ETF is now trading at its lowest level in over a year.
The RAN market, excluding services, declined for the sixth consecutive quarter in 3Q24, with worldwide revenues down 10 to 20 percent year-over-year. Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE, and Samsung are the top five suppliers. The worldwide RAN market is expected to grow at a low single-digit rate in 2025, mainly driven by growth in North America and APAC, excluding China.
➀ NAND flash prices have plummeted by over 40% in just two months, reaching an all-time low since records began in August 2015.
➁ The decline in prices is attributed to a reduction in demand for DRAM and NAND flash in products such as smartphones and PCs, with the demand shifting towards high-performance AI products.
➂ The average fixed transaction price of universal NAND flash (128Gb 16Gx8 MLC) in the last month was $3.07, a decrease of 29.2% from the previous month.
➀ Intel is facing accusations of product vulnerabilities and security breaches, with China's Cybersecurity Association suggesting a cybersecurity review of its products sold in China.
➁ Intel's revenue has been declining, with a significant portion coming from the Chinese market.
➂ The company has been struggling with the competition in the CPU market and the lack of growth in new markets like AI chips.
➃ Intel's manufacturing technology has fallen behind, leading to increased costs and decreased performance compared to competitors like TSMC.
➄ Intel's market value has halved, and the company is facing challenges in new business expansion.
➀ The European semiconductor market is experiencing a decline, with negative growth in automotive and industrial sectors; ➁ European semiconductor companies have significant strengths in the automotive market but are struggling in data centers and AI server consumption markets; ➂ The European Union's chip act faces challenges, with the goal of increasing Europe's global semiconductor production market share to at least 20% by 2030 seemingly unrealistic; ➃ European companies are looking for more supportive and motivational policies rather than restrictive ones for economic security.
➀ The Optical Transport equipment market saw a 19% year-over-year decline in Q2 due to excess inventory, project delays in Asia Pacific, and weak economic conditions. ➁ The inventory correction, which began in late 2023, is expected to continue for at least another quarter. ➂ The market outlook for 2024 has been revised downward, with a forecasted 8% decline in the Optical Transport equipment market.
1. The Service Provider Router and Aggregation Switch market is expected to decline by 6% in 2024. 2. Factors contributing to the decline include inventory correction, slowdown in access network deployments, and inflation. 3. The market is forecast to grow at an average annual rate of 3% following the contraction in 2024.
1. Advanced packaging revenue decreased by 9% in Q1 2024, reaching $10.2 billion. 2. The quarter is expected to be the weakest of the year, with an 8.1% decline from the previous quarter. 3. Recovery in the advanced packaging market is anticipated in 2024.