On the 24th, the A-share STAR 50 Index experienced a downturn, closing down 2.54% at 739.14 points. In the market, the semiconductor sector underwent adjustments, with the semiconductor equipment sector declining at the end of the day. Fuchuang Precision fell by more than 9%, followed by declines in Jing Sheng Shares, Jingyi Equipment, Tuojin Technology, and Fuled. The PCB concept stocks showed mixed performance, with Xunjie Xing rising by more than 8%, Oat Technology falling by more than 6%, and Shengyi Electronics dropping by more than 3%.

In the Hong Kong stock market, chip stocks also fluctuated and declined, with Hua Hong Semiconductor falling by more than 7%, and SMIC falling by more than 4%, followed by declines in Shanghai Fudan and China Electronics HuaDa Technology, among others.

In terms of news, on the 24th, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce responded to reporters' questions regarding the U.S.'s release of draft regulations on the 21st to restrict American investment in China's semiconductor and microelectronics, quantum information technology, and artificial intelligence sectors.

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The spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that the U.S. move is a typical generalization of national security practices, violating the consensus reached during the San Francisco meeting between the two countries' leaders. It affects the normal trade and economic cooperation between Chinese and American companies, disrupts the international trade and economic order, and disturbs the security and stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain. China expresses serious concern and firm opposition, and reserves the right to take corresponding measures. The spokesperson also said that the U.S. should respect the laws of market economy and the principle of fair competition, stop politicizing and weaponizing trade issues, lift investment restrictions on China, and create a favorable environment for China-U.S. trade and economic cooperation.

At present, from an overall industry perspective, the global semiconductor market is currently experiencing a recovery. Recently, news of potential price increases in the foundry business of TSMC and Hua Hong Semiconductor has attracted widespread market attention. Yu Yiran, Executive Director of CIC Consulting, told reporters from Yicai that the current increase in wafer foundry market prices is mainly due to the scarcity of advanced process technologies and strong downstream market demand. This supply and demand mismatch reflects that the semiconductor market is gradually warming up.

So far, three semiconductor companies have released their revenue forecasts for the first half of 2024, all of which have shown year-on-year growth. Among them, BaWei Storage expects a year-on-year increase in net profit attributable to the parent company of 194.44% to 211.31% for the first half of the year; Nanxin Technology, whose main business is power management chips, expects a year-on-year increase in net profit attributable to the parent company of 101.28% to 119.16% for the first half of the year; and Qi Zhong Technology, a packaging and testing service provider, reported revenue of 774 million yuan from January to May, a year-on-year increase of 38.91%, and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 138 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 62.51%.

However, looking at the industry's sub-tracks, the recovery progress in various semiconductor fields is not consistent. According to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics Organization, the growth of the global semiconductor market size this year will mainly be driven by logic chips and memory chips, with double-digit increases, while the scale of discrete devices, optoelectronic devices, and other fields will see single-digit declines.

Recently, local power device IDM manufacturer Yangjie Technology responded to investors' questions about business growth on the investor interaction platform, stating that the market size of discrete devices will continue to maintain a "moderate growth" trend in the future.

Regarding the semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry's decline at the end of the day, according to the latest report jointly released by the International Semiconductor Industry Association (SEMI) and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ), the global semiconductor (chip) manufacturing equipment market shrank again in the first three months of 2024, with total sales down 2% year-on-year to 26.42 billion U.S. dollars, marking the third decline in four consecutive quarters. However, against this backdrop, the Chinese market performed particularly well, with sales of 12.52 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 113%, making it the largest global chip equipment market for the fourth consecutive quarter. SEMI analysis believes that this growth momentum not only highlights the strong development momentum of China's semiconductor industry but also reflects the continued strong demand for semiconductor equipment in the domestic market.

In response to the performance of semiconductor equipment in the secondary market on the 24th, securities analysts analyzed for reporters that against the backdrop of continuous technological progress, the performance of Chinese semiconductor equipment companies has grown strongly, but the stock prices may not truly reflect this trend. Compared with the stock prices of overseas semiconductor equipment companies, which may have fully reflected performance expectations, there are structural opportunities for Chinese semiconductor equipment. Under the guidance of the new quality productive force ideology, the capital intensity of China's semiconductor industry may further increase.