New York, Feb 23, 2026, 06:03 EST — Premarket
- ASML Holding’s U.S. shares were up roughly 0.8% ahead of the opening bell.
- Stock futures dropped as traders assessed the impact of a fresh U.S. global tariff proposal.
- This week, attention moves to major AI-chip earnings and the market’s next read on ASML’s guidance.
ASML Holding’s U.S. shares nudged up in premarket action Monday, most recently gaining $11.21 to trade around $1,469.59, putting them about 0.8% higher.
U.S. stock futures slipped, tracking lower after President Donald Trump announced a fresh 15% tariff on imports, a move that followed the Supreme Court’s rejection of his sweeping levies. “It’s really hard … to know how do you plan” with tariffs and supply chains constantly shifting, said Arthur Laffer Jr., president of Laffer Tengler Investments. Reuters
Why now? Chip-equipment stocks often mirror shifts in worldwide factory outlays. When tariffs fluctuate, sentiment usually takes the first blow—budgets pull back, and actual orders don’t show up right away.
ASML occupies a key spot in the supply chain, selling lithography equipment — among them, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) systems that handle the tiniest features on state-of-the-art chips. Its machines cross borders, often with significant lead times attached.
European stocks edged down at the open, with tech names lagging as traders weighed fresh U.S. trade jitters.
Brussels hit back over the weekend. The European Commission insisted it won’t tolerate any hike in U.S. tariffs beyond the levels agreed in last year’s accord, saying simply: “A deal is a deal.” Reuters
ASML shareholders are already riding robust AI-linked demand, and now fresh tariff chatter piles onto that. The firm’s fourth-quarter bookings climbed — a key indicator for future orders — and management upped their 2026 revenue forecast, pointing to clearer confidence from clients in “the sustainability of AI-related demand,” CEO Christophe Fouquet said. Reuters
It’s a classic early-week standoff: on one side, demand still appears solid; on the other, policy uncertainty has the power to chill boardroom moves fast—no small matter for those dealing in multi-billion-dollar capital equipment.
The risk here is easy to spot: should tariff policy become stricter or get bogged down in execution, chipmakers might push back on tool deliveries and rethink their capacity strategies. That would end up hitting ASML’s bookings and margins eventually.
Traders now turn their attention to Washington, seeking clarity on the duration of the new tariff regime and which exemptions will remain. Nvidia’s February 25 earnings are on the radar for clues about AI-driven demand, while eyes are also on ASML’s next trading update, set for May 12.
