Semiconductor Supply Chain Rallies as Wafer and Intel CPU Prices Rise

China’s semiconductor-related stocks strengthened after a new round of price increases across the supply chain, with global silicon wafer leaders Shin-Etsu Chemical, SUMCO and GlobalWafers launching a second price hike of the year in early-to-mid May, according to Jiemian News. Standard 12-inch wafers rose 5% to 8%, while high-end specialty wafers for AI/HPC applications increased 18% to 22%; cumulative increases across two rounds this year exceeded 15%. Intel also raised prices for some consumer Core Ultra processors and Xeon server CPUs, with high-end Xeon server products up 7% to 12%. As of 11:08 a.m. on July 7, 2026, the SSE STAR Market Composite Index rose 0.51%. Constituents including GRITEK Silicon and Dongwei Semiconductor hit 20% gains, while Moore Threads rose 16.78%. The Penghua SSE STAR Market Composite ETF (589680) gained 0.55% to 1.82 yuan. GF Securities said expansion plans by Samsung and SK hynix, alongside an expected IPO by ChangXin Memory, could support upstream semiconductor equipment demand, particularly for etching, thin-film deposition, and metrology/inspection tools.