NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 21:50 ET — Market closed
- Applied Materials shares fell 1.2% on Tuesday to $259.97, ending a seven-session winning streak.
- Semiconductor equipment peers Lam Research and KLA also closed lower in a holiday-thin session.
- A late Reuters report said China is pressing chipmakers to source at least half of new-fab equipment locally, raising fresh questions about foreign tool demand.
Applied Materials, Inc. shares ended Tuesday down 1.17% at $259.97, snapping a seven-day winning streak for the chip-equipment maker.
The move matters as investors head into the final trading day of 2025 with China policy and U.S. export controls back in focus for semiconductor tool suppliers. Applied makes chipmaking equipment — the high-precision tools used to deposit and remove materials on silicon wafers — a market where China remains a key buyer even as restrictions tighten.
After the close, Reuters reported that Chinese authorities are requiring chipmakers to show—through procurement tenders—that at least 50% of equipment for new capacity will be domestically made, a policy not publicly documented but enforced in recent months, sources said. The report added that officials ultimately want plants to reach 100% domestic equipment use over time.
Tuesday’s broader tape was subdued. The Dow fell 0.20%, the S&P 500 lost 0.14% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.23% in a light-volume pre-holiday session, with investors parsing minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting.
Chip-equipment peers moved with the group. Lam Research closed down 1.19% and KLA fell 1.33%, according to MarketWatch data.
The China sourcing push adds another variable for U.S. and Japanese equipment makers already navigating export curbs. Reuters said the rule is being applied more flexibly for advanced production lines where local tools are not fully available, but is pushing fabs to choose domestic suppliers even where foreign equipment remains available.
The same Reuters report cited momentum for Chinese toolmakers such as Naura and Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (AMEC), including progress in etching — a process that removes material from wafers to form transistor patterns — where foreign suppliers have historically dominated.
Investors also weighed a separate Reuters report that the U.S. has granted annual 2026 licenses for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to bring chipmaking equipment into their China facilities, replacing broader waivers that expire on December 31. The shift to annual approvals underscores how quickly the rulebook can change for tool shipments tied to China operations.
Applied has flagged in prior disclosures that tighter U.S. export controls are expected to constrain its China-related business in 2026, leaving the stock sensitive to any new sign that China demand could shift further toward domestic suppliers.
Some investors remain inclined to buy dips in big technology and AI-linked names after pullbacks. “It’ll turn out to be a buying opportunity,” Hank Smith, head of investment strategy at Haverford Trust, said in a Reuters market wrap focused on year-end positioning. Reuters
Trading in Applied was light for a headline-driven day. About 2.2 million shares changed hands, well below its 50-day average of roughly 7.3 million, MarketWatch reported.
Technically, Applied finished about 5.84% below its 52-week high of $276.10 set on December 10, after the seven-day run. That leaves the stock near the $260 area traders have watched during the recent advance.
Before the next session on Wednesday, investors will look for follow-through across the semiconductor equipment group as China policy headlines collide with a thin year-end market. Reuters has repeatedly flagged that holiday trading has kept volumes light, which can exaggerate moves.
Macro catalysts are sparse but still on the radar. A Reuters market report noted that weekly U.S. jobless claims are among the few scheduled data points in an otherwise quiet week, after the Fed minutes highlighted divisions and kept rate-path debate alive.
Applied’s next major company-specific catalyst is its upcoming quarterly earnings report, expected in mid-February based on market calendars. Traders will be listening for any updated view on China demand, export-license friction, and whether AI-driven logic and memory spending is strong enough to offset policy headwinds.
