Shares in TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW) rose more than 2% on Monday, after it was reported that the chipmaker was considering taking a controlling stake in Intel's (INTC) US factories.
Bloomberg reported late on Friday that this had come at the request of officials from US president Donald Trump's administration.
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Officials reportedly raised the idea in recent meetings, with talks said to be in very early stages, and come after a challenging period for Intel (INTC).
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported separately on Sunday that chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO) was considering making a bid for Intel's chip-design and marketing business.
Spokespeople for TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW), Broadcom (AVGO) and Intel (INTC) had not responded to Yahoo Finance UK's request for comment at the time of writing.
Tencent (0700.HK)
Shares in Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent (0700.HK) surged to their highest point since July 2021, after the company launched a beta test for search using DeepSeek in its Weixin messaging app.
The test is allowing some users of the messaging app to search via DeepSeek's artificial intelligence model.
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Tencent (0700.HK) is looking at integrating DeepSeek with other products, including Tencent Cloud AI Code Assistant and Tencent Yuanbao.
Fellow Chinese tech firm Baidu (9888.HK) reportedly said separately that it would connect its search engine to DeepSeek.
These latest developments come just a few weeks after DeepSeek's release of a lower-cost AI model rattled markets, as it sparked concerns about the level of spending by major US tech companies in this space.
Another Chinese tech firm in focus on Monday morning was Alibaba (9988.HK, BABA), after the company's co-founder Jack Ma was among the top executives spotted meeting China's leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Other tech executives said to be in attendance at the meeting included Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, and BYD (1211.HK) CEO Wang Chuanfu.
The rare meeting with business leaders suggested that the government could be steering towards a more supportive approach to the tech sector, as China faces escalating trade tensions with the US.
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Alibaba (9988.HK, BABA) shares are already up nearly 48% since the start of the year, as investors have cheered the company's AI push.
Last week, Alibaba's (9988.HK, BABA) chairman Joseph Tsai confirmed reports that the company was partnering with Apple (AAPL) to bring AI to iPhones in China.
Investors will be looking to Alibaba's (9988.HK, BABA) third quarter results on Thursday, for further information how its AI-related product business is faring.
GSK (GSK.L)
Pharmaceuticals giant GSK (GSK.L) said on Saturday that its five-in-one meningococcal vaccine, Penmenvy, had been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "While this approval is a solid win for GSK, it also signals broader optimism for the industry, despite some lingering nerves around pending approvals given the shakeup that’s expected under the Trump administration, including layoffs at the FDA.
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"Recent developments at GSK have significantly reduced key risks," he said. "But with forecasts largely unchanged, the valuation pressures look overdone, and this could present an attractive entry point for an impressive business trading at a 42% discount to the sector."
Despite this news, shares dipped more than 1% on Monday morning, following reports that the world's most profitable hedge fund had built a short position in GSK.
The Times reported on Friday that Citadel had built a net short position equating to 0.51% of GSK's issued share capital. A spokesperson for Citadel had not responded to Yahoo Finance UK's request for comment at the time of writing.
BAE Systems (BA.L)
Aerospace and defence company BAE Systems (BA.L) was the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) on Monday morning, with shares surging 6%, on expectations of greater defence spending.
"Comments by secretary general Mark Rutte that NATO members will have to boost their defence spending by 'considerably more than 3%' of GDP put a rocket underneath defence stocks," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell (AJB.L).
"Shares in defence companies had already rallied hard since Russia invaded Ukraine as investors took the view that the shocking events would spur governments around the world to fortify their own defences," he said.
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"Rutte’s comments effectively confirm this line of thinking and have acted as another share price catalyst, even though markets had already priced in a stronger earnings environment for the sector. That Donald Trump is keen for European allies to spend as much as 5% of GDP on defence adds to the narrative supporting the sector."
Chemring Group (CHG.L) was another UK-listed defence firm on the rise on Monday morning, up 5%. French firm Thales (HO.PA) and Italy's Leonardo (LDO.MI) were also trading more than 5% in the green.
Other companies in the news on Monday 17 February:
Wilmington (WIL.L)
BHP (BHP.L)
Transocean (RIG)
Anglo American Platinum (AGPPF)
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