US chipmakers jump again with memory stocks in the lead

Shares of U.S. chipmakers jump early on Wednesday as AI frenzy ripples across the globe with memory stocks leading the surge

Micron Technology MU.O up 5.8%, Sandisk SNDK.O climbs 4.8%; Western Digital WDC.O and Seagate Technology STX.O rise more than 2% each

iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX.O up 2.1% before the bell, having surged 71.3% so far this year; Roundhill Memory ETF DRAM.K up almost 6%

Smaller semiconductor stocks: Wolfspeed WOLF.N up 20%, Everspin Technologies MRAM.O, NVE Corp NVEC.O up 8.8%

Nvidia NVDA.O up 2.1%, set to touch a fresh record at open and clinch $5.5 trillion in market cap for the first time

European chip stocks rally after Asian tech rebound: South Korea's tech-heavy KOSPI .KS11 also touched a record after government-mediated talks between Samsung Electronics 005930.KS and its union to reach a pay deal

Chip stocks across the globe have seen eye-popping gains this year as booming AI data center demand creates a shortage of chips, although recent gains have raised concerns about extreme valuation in the sector