TOKYO (Reuters) – Shares of SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) tumbled early Friday as technology investors gearing up for the initial public offering (IPO) of chip designer Arm got caught up in the semiconductor market frenzy. trading soared 5%. Artificial intelligence stocks.
Shares of the Japanese conglomerate, which has been hit by a slump in the value of its tech portfolio, are up 17% since last week’s close.
Still, it’s up just 6.4% since the beginning of the year. That compares to 172% for U.S. semiconductor maker Nvidia (NVDA.O) and 39% for the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index (.SOX), which is expected to be a beneficiary of AI investments. .
On Friday, SoftBank broke above the psychological level of 6,000 for the first time since February.
“We have expressed our view that SBG shares will rise ahead of the Armipo later this year … but we will move early given the (market’s) interest in half-shares,” said Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal. I think it makes sense,” he said. In the customer’s note, we have upgraded our stock recommendation to ‘Buy’.
Other examples of beneficiaries of the enthusiasm for chip stocks include equipment makers Advantest (6857.T) and Tokyo Electron (8035.T), which are up 109% and 50%, respectively, since the start of the year.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son claims the rise of artificial intelligence is driving investment, but he’s also recently become obsessed with generative AI enthusiasm, with proponents Compare it to the advent of the Internet.
“He feels like his time has finally come,” SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto told reporters at an earnings briefing last month.
Reported by Sam Nussey.Editing: Jacqueline Wong and Christopher Cushing
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