KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
At an AI-focused event in Washington, AMD CEO Lisa Su confirmed that chips produced by TSMC in Arizona will cost 5% to 20% more than those made in Taiwan. AMD expects to receive its first batch from the Arizona fabs by end-2025.
Cost Implication:
Su’s comments underline ongoing concerns about the economics of US chip manufacturing, even with government incentives.
The cost premium could impact pricing models for chip buyers—especially in AI and data center segments where AMD competes with Nvidia.
AI Market Outlook:
Su noted that AI chip demand is booming, fueled by investments from OpenAI’s Sam Altman and xAI’s Elon Musk.
She forecasted the AI chip market could surpass $500B in the coming years, driven by rapid adoption of accelerators for model training and inference.
Analyst Takeaway:
While reshoring chip production boosts supply chain resilience, cost pressures remain real. The 5–20% increase may squeeze margins unless passed on to end users.
AMD’s continued expansion into AI accelerators positions it well in a high-growth vertical, though cost efficiency and performance parity with Nvidia remain key.
Watchlist Item: Monitor how chipmakers adjust pricing and CapEx in light of higher US fab costs—and whether government subsidies can meaningfully close the gap.
Bottom Line: The message is clear—AI chips are the future, but they won’t come cheap if made in America.
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