Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) perked up about 5% by noon trading on Monday, following reports that CEO Lip-Bu Tan plans to visit U.S. President Donald Trump today.
Tan’s visit follows Trump’s comments last week calling for his removal from Intel over ties to Chinese businesses. Tan is expected to have a wide-ranging conversation with Trump, with the intent of explaining his personal and professional background.
Monday was a busy news day for the semiconductor sector as a whole, prompting the majority of firms to edge higher.
AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) had climbed by 2.6% and 0.6%, respectively, after it was revealed the two companies had entered a “pay-to-play” deal to hand over 15% of revenues from Chinese artificial intelligence chip sales to the U.S. government in exchange for export licenses.
Nvidia will share 15% of revenue from sales of its H20 AI accelerator in China, and AMD is expected to contribute an identical share from its MI308 chip revenues.
Meanwhile, Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) had gained 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively. Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) climbed 3% after Seaport initiated coverage of the IP firm with a Buy rating.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) shares increased 3% after the company raised guidance for its fiscal fourth quarter ending August 28, citing improved DRAM pricing and strong execution. The company now expects revenue of $11.2B, plus or minus $100M, up from its prior forecast of $10.7B, plus or minus $300M.
Companies involved in the design and manufacturing of semiconductor processing equipment were also mostly on the rise. Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX), ASML Holdings (NASDAQ:ASML) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had edged up 1%, 0.8% and 0.9%. Applied Materials is slated to release its latest quarterly financial results on Thursday, August 14.