Apple’s AI spike sparks rally in Asian suppliers

Investing.com-- Asian suppliers of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose sharply on Thursday, tracking sharp gains in the iPhone maker this week after it unveiled a slew of artificial intelligence features for its flagship devices. 

Apple surged nearly 10% so far this week, briefly crossing Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) as the world’s most valuable company after investors reacted positively to its developer conference earlier this week. 

Analysts bet that AI features will help spark a sales rebound for Apple, particularly its fast-moving iPhone, which has seen laggard sales in recent quarters.

Increased sales for the iPhone maker bode well for its Asian suppliers, which rallied this week.

South Korean memory chip makers Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) and SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) rose 2.4% and 3.7%, respectively. Samsung SDI (KS:006400), which supplies batteries to Apple, added 0.5%. 

In Taiwan, TSMC (TW:2330) (NYSE:TSM)- the world’s biggest contract chipmaker and a major Apple supplier- rose 2%, while Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (TW:2317) (Foxconn), which assembles iPhones and other devices for Apple, added 0.4%. Both stocks were sitting on strong gains this week. 

In China, AAC Technologies (OTC:AACAY) Holdings Inc (HK:2018), which makes acoustic components for Apple, rose 2%, while BYD Co (HK:1211), which also supplies battery technology to Apple, rallied nearly 8%. 

Apple’s AI plans were welcomed by investors, who bet that introduction of new features, such as increased voice command functionality and photo editing capabilities will help shore up slowing iPhone sales. Given that a bulk of the new AI features are only compatible with newer iPhone models, their introduction could potentially spark a new upgrade cycle among customers. 

AI is also expected to further Apple’s software services, revenue from which has so far remained robust despite laggard device sales.