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Japanese stocks were lower in early trade, weighed by concerns about the Iran conflict and higher energy costs.

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Japanese stocks were higher in early trade amid continued hopes for artificial intelligence-related demand and signs of U.S. economic strength.

Shares of semiconductor companies edged higher after Nvidia reported a blowout quarter and issued strong revenue guidance for fiscal 2028. Finance chief Colette Kress said the group expects 70% revenue growth in fiscal 2028, significantly better than the 45% growth that analysts polled by FactSet had predicted.

Japanese stocks rose after Nvidia’s strong quarterly results alleviated concerns about the sustainability of AI-related spending.

Shares of semiconductor companies were mixed as investors await Nvidia's second-quarter results after the U.S. market close to gauge appetite for artificial-intelligence chips. Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International were down 0.

STOCKS 0015 GMT — Japanese stocks decline as uncertainty over the Iran war and its economic implications persists. Chip-related stocks are leading declines ahead of Nvidia’s quarterly earnings later Wednesday.

BE Semiconductor Industries NV (BESIY) reports a remarkable 68.7% revenue increase and significant strides in AI-related orders, while navigating market complexities and future growth challenges.

European semiconductor stocks moved sharply on Thursday after earnings updates, with Soitec surging on strong photonics demand linked ‌to artificial intelligence applications, while STMicroelectronics and BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi) fell as investors reacted ‌to weaker near-term performance and elevated growth expectations. Soitec shares jumped around 23% after the French semiconductor materials supplier beat ​sales expectations by a wide margin and pointed to accelerating demand for photonics wafers used in artificial intelligence applications.

July 23 (Reuters) - European shares edged lower on Thursday, weighed down by technology stocks following quarterly results from U.S. giant Alphabet, while markets assessed the Middle East conflict

BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi) on Thursday reported quarterly orders significantly above last year's level, fuelled by strong ‌demand for AI, hybrid bonding, photonics and data centres. Investors are ‌betting on rising demand for Besi's hybrid bonding solutions, a chip-packaging technology that ​enables two chips to be directly bonded together, citing the company's first-mover advantage as AI-driven demand accelerates. The number of customers using Besi's hybrid bonding technology increased ⁠to 21 in the quarter from 15 at the end of last year, as the technology gained traction in logic, memory, co-packaged ​optics and ​consumer applications and drove capacity expansions ​among customers, it said.

The shares were broadly flat in ⁠early trading. The company said it now targets revenue of 1.7 billion euros to 2.2 billion euros ($1.96 billion ​to $2.54 billion), ​up from 1.5 billion ​euros to 1.9 billion ‌euros, ahead of its 2026 investor day in Amsterdam. It also raised the lower end of its operating margin target to 45% from 40%, while keeping the upper end unchanged at 55%.

BE Semiconductor Industries raised its long-term revenue and profitability targets, citing increased demand for AI-related products.

BE Semiconductor Industries NV (BESIY) reports a robust first quarter with significant increases in revenue, net income, and orders, while anticipating continued growth in the upcoming quarter.

BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI) on Thursday said its quarterly orders grew significantly in the first-quarter, helped by growth across ‌all its markets and particularly strong demand for hybrid bonding. Investors ‌are banking on growing orders for Besi's hybrid bonding solutions, a chip technology allowing two ​chips to be bonded directly on top of each other, citing its first-mover advantage amid a surge in demand for AI-enabling technology. Besi said its order bookings, an important indicator of future growth, jumped 104.5% to 269.7 million ‌euros ($315.5 million) in the first ⁠quarter, compared with 131.9 million euros last year.

BE Semiconductor Industries has attracted takeover interest as its chip-packaging technology becomes increasingly strategic for semiconductor equipment manufacturers, according to three people familiar with the matter. The Amsterdam-listed chip equipment maker, known ‌as Besi, which has a market value of 14 billion euros ($16.20 billion), has been working with investment bank Morgan Stanley to evaluate ‌the approaches, two of the people said, requesting anonymity as the discussions are confidential. U.S. chip-equipment maker Lam Research is among the suitors that have held discussions with the Dutch company, ​one of the people said.