European semiconductor stocks diverge as investors weigh AI demand, growth expectations

July 23 : European semiconductor stocks moved sharply on Thursday after earnings updates, with Soitec surging on strong photonics demand linked to artificial intelligence applications, while STMicroelectronics and BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi) fell as investors reacted to weaker near-term performance and elevated growth expectations.Soitec shares jumped around 23 per cent after the French semiconductor materials supplier beat sales expectations by a wide margin and pointed to accelerating demand for photonics wafers used in artificial intelligence applications.The company guided for revenue growth of more than 30 per cent in the second quarter and said revenue from its Photonics-SOI business was expected to more than double from slightly above $100 million in the prior year.By contras