AMSTERDAM, May 30, 2026, 18:05 (CEST)
- ASML shares in Amsterdam ended Friday at €1,384.80, dropping 0.45% for the session and about 1.7% lower than last Friday’s finish.
- Euronext Amsterdam did not open on Saturday. The market’s usual hours run Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. local time.
- AI chip demand and any fresh moves on China export controls will probably guide markets this week, with new Huawei claims bringing ASML’s tech limits into view again.
ASML Holding shares fell in Amsterdam this week after touching a new 52-week high. Investors weighed the strong AI order cycle against fresh concerns about China trying to bypass Western chip-equipment restrictions.
Shares finished Friday at €1,384.80, falling 0.45% for the session. The price had traded as high as €1,437.00 earlier this week before pulling back, with the AEX index also moving lower most of the week.
That’s relevant now since ASML is right in the bottleneck of the chip supply chain. The company’s lithography equipment prints chip circuitry with light. Its top-end extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines are necessary for the leading-edge chips that run artificial intelligence.
China threw up a new market twist. Huawei laid out a chip design strategy this week that focuses on speeding up signals across chips and systems, not just shrinking transistors. Since 2019, China hasn’t been able to import ASML’s top EUV machines, closing off a route that would help domestic chipmakers catch up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co at the high end.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told reporters he doesn’t see Huawei’s approach as a “threat for TSMC.” Omdia chief analyst Lian Jye Su also sounded cautious, saying so far there is “nothing concrete” that can be independently verified. Reuters
ASML bulls stick with the demand story. The company last month predicted 2026 net sales between €36 billion and €40 billion, gross margin at 51% to 53%. First-quarter net sales landed at €8.8 billion, with net income of €2.8 billion. “Demand for chips is outpacing supply,” Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet said. ASML
ASML is still drawing buyers after a strong rally, with traders betting tight supply will persist as AI, satellites and robots push chip demand faster than new capacity comes online, Fouquet told Reuters. “The chip market would stay ‘tense’,” he said. Reuters
AI gear isn’t just about ASML. Lam Research has launched a lab in Austria focused on chip packaging. Reuters said Lam, Applied Materials, ASML, and KLA all supply the expensive wafer fabrication tools needed as the AI wave boosts demand for faster chips. Packaging is how chips are put together and linked to help them run quicker and cut power use.
The risk is out there. Stricter U.S.-driven curbs on sales or servicing of DUV gear — the older lithography tech that remains key for many chips — could drag on China revenue and disrupt orders. JPMorgan analyst Sandeep Deshpande has said ASML’s earnings per share might drop as much as 10% in the tougher scenarios for export controls, and said lost China business may not see full replacement elsewhere.
Dutch officials objected to the U.S. MATCH Act, arguing the law tries to extend U.S. authority too far. Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma told parliament that the Netherlands sees each country as responsible for its own legal rules.
ASML holders go into the week looking at Friday’s drop. With Amsterdam closed over the weekend, eyes are on whether that move was some profit-taking near a 52-week high or the start of market worry over China risk. The AI order book remains a positive. But Washington, Beijing, and The Hague could be hurdles.
