Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)'s stock price jumped at the open on Wednesday, hitting a high of $37.16 a share after reports emerged that the U.S. is considering more stringent trade curbs in its crackdown on China's access to advanced chips.
In addition, former U.S. President Donald Trump's comments on Taiwan have also helped to boost intel shares.
Trump, who has set his sights on another White House mandate, said he believes Taiwan should pay the U.S. for defense. He stated that the country "doesn't give us anything."
Trump seemed to link his remarks to Taiwan's semiconductor industry, one of the most advanced in the world, saying: ″[Taiwan] did take about 100% of our chip business."
Meanwhile, a report from Bloomberg on Wednesday said the U.S. is considering more stringent trade curbs in its crackdown on China's access to advanced chips.
The Biden administration is said to be weighing stricter trade restrictions if companies such as Tokyo Electron Ltd. and ASML (AS:ASML) continue to provide China access to advanced semiconductor technology.
However, the Biden administration is said to be facing pushback to its chip crackdown on China. It has reportedly told allies it is considering using the harshest trade restrictions available if they continue giving China access to advanced semiconductor technology.
While many semiconductor stocks have declined following Wednesday's reports, Intel has been one of the beneficiaries. It is currently up more than 4% at $35.86 per share.
The potential restrictions on China from the Biden administration are seen as potentially benefitting U.S. domestic semiconductor stocks.
In a note to clients, analysts at Mizuho said they "would watch INTC and TXN as potential US domestic semi' winners' if [the] US further restricts China in semis," noting that "INTC [is] already up 130 bps and TXN [is] down 180 bps."