NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of semiconductor makers slipped Wednesday, as an analyst described ''common anxiety'' among major Taiwanese chip makers.
The chip sector, as measured by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, fell 1.96 points or 0.54 percent in afternoon trading, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.65 percent.
In a note to investors, Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Rick Schafer said the first three days of a recent trip to Asia revealed a ''muted'' and ''generally cautious'' tone among Taiwanese chip makers during the first quarter.
While there was ''common anxiety'' over demand for the second half of the year, manufacturers mostly reported healthy inventory levels, Schafer said.
The world's largest contract chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which makes chips for Broadcom Corp., Nvidia Corp. and others, fell 11 cents to $10.41 in afternoon trading.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Nvidia fell 25 cents to $18.79, while Broadcom advanced 58 cents to $18.10.
The world's second largest contract chip maker, United Microelectronics Corp., fell 4 cents to $3.23 in afternoon trading. One of its chief clients, STMicroelectronics NV, fell 5 cents to $10.92.
In other research, a report by Gartner Inc. indicated that Asian chip assembly and testing companies continued to rapidly outperform U.S competitors in 2007.
The report found that Chandler, Ariz.-based Amkor Technology Inc. was the only U.S. company among the top five, and it had the smallest revenue growth.
Amkor's sales rose just 0.4 percent, compared with the industry average of 7.4 percent. Its nearest competitor, Siliconware Precision Industries of Taiwan, saw sales jump 13.8 percent.
Amkor shares fell 21 cents to $11.44 in afternoon trading.
