Market wrap: ASML and Infineon support sentiments in Europe - XTB.com

The global market sentiment is influenced by a mix of factors, with the U.S. market showing resilience as Nasdaq 100 futures rose nearly 0.7% ahead of the Wall Street open, despite a drop in oil price... Read original →

The capital rotation from NVIDIA to ASML signals a strategic pivot: AI investment is shifting from chip design to manufacturing infrastructure. ASML’s EUV monopoly acts as the physical gatekeeper for sub-3nm production, directly constraining foundry expansion in Taiwan, China, South Korea, and beyond. While U.S. export controls haven’t banned full-system EUV sales to China yet, tightened component licensing has already inflated delivery costs by over 15%, prompting European fabs to stockpile spare parts. Nikon and Canon remain technologically incapable of closing the EUV gap, while Intel’s IDM 2.0 push ironically deepens its reliance on ASML. Over the next 18 months, geopolitical friction will likely spur a U.S.-EU-Japan-Netherlands ‘equipment alliance’ to explore refurbished EUV units and multi-source supply pilots. Yet ASML’s $350M integrated systems—backed by unmatched process co-optimization—will retain pricing power and allocation control, transforming lithography dominance into a new form of techno-strategic leverage.