STORY: ASML shares jumped up more than 4% on Thursday (November 28)
Its peers in the European computer chip equipment sector also climbed.
Investors were pleased by a Bloomberg report about upcoming U.S. restrictions on the Chinese semiconductor industry.
It said they might be less severe than expected.
ASML rivals were also up in early trade, with their shares among top performers on the European benchmark STOXX 600.
The Bloomberg report cited unnamed sources, who said that major Chinese memory chip manufacturer ChangXin Memory Technologies would not be added to U.S. trade restrictions lists.
It further said the timing and contents of the decision are not certain.
The U.S. Commerce Department oversees U.S. restrictions on China exports.
It is expected to issue new guidance after the Thanksgiving holiday.
ASML is the largest supplier of semiconductor-making equipment and declined to comment.
The company recently said it expects sales of its tools to China to drop to a fifth of total sales next year.
That’s down from nearly 50% over the previous six quarters.
