Litmus test for chip stocks as investors gird for TSMC earnings

SINGAPORE, April 17 (Reuters) - Investors are bracing for the results from Taiwan's TSMC (2330.TW), opens new tab on Thursday to show further evidence of the wide-ranging uncertainty in the chip industry spurred by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies.

Chip stocks across the globe have suffered this year as investor jitters about spending on AI infrastructure, the threat of competition after Chinese startup DeepSeek's launch, and, in recent weeks, fears around U.S. tariffs have sapped sentiment.

On Wednesday, chip stocks were battered as Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab warned of a $5.5 billion hit after Washington restricted exports of its AI processor tailored for China, while Dutch giant ASML (ASML.AS), opens new tab raised doubts about its outlook.

The spotlight now shifts to earnings from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, whose customers include Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab and Nvidia. TSMC is the main producer of advanced chips used in artificial intelligence applications and has been boosted by strong demand in recent years.

The focus will be on capital spending plans as well as commen...
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