KUALA LUMPUR (May 8): NationGate Holdings Bhd (KL:NATGATE), alongside other technology stocks, were among the top gainers on Bursa Malaysia on Thursday, following reports that the Trump administration is planning to rescind or relax export restrictions on advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
The tech index gained 2.19%, outperforming the FBM KLCI’s 0.46% decline.
NationGate’s share price hit a two-month high, rising as much as 14 sen or 9.4% to RM1.63, during the morning session — its highest since March 4 — before paring gains to a low of RM1.52. The counter closed at RM1.58, still up nine sen or 6.04% from the previous day’s close, giving it a market capitalisation of RM3.39 billion.
NationGate was among the most actively traded stocks on Bursa, with a trading volume of 77.69 million shares — more than double the 21.24 million shares recorded the previous day.
Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (KL:MPI), UWC Bhd (KL:UWC) and ViTrox Corp Bhd (KL:VITROX) saw gains of 34 sen, 13 sen and 12 sen to RM19.90, RM2.23 and RM3.42 respectively.
YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTLPOWR) also saw its share price rise nearly 2% to a four-month high of RM3.67, before closing at RM3.62, up two sen or 0.56%, giving it a market capitalisation of RM29.59 billion.
Other data centre-related stocks and AI proxies also posted gains. TIME dotCom Bhd (KL:TIMECOM) rose 0.38%, MN Holdings Bhd (KL:MNHLDG) added 3.39%, Inari Amertron Bhd (KL:INARI) increased 4.76%, and VSTECS Bhd (KL:VSTECS) climbed 3.73%.
The Trump administration plans to remove Biden-era restrictions on AI chips as part of a broader effort to revise semiconductor trade rules. The changes, which are not final, aim to reshape a policy introduced by Biden that created three tiers of countries for regulating exports of chips from companies like Nvidia.
Although the reversal is not yet finalised, the news has lifted sentiment across the global semiconductor sector, especially among AI chipmakers such as Nvidia and AMD. This could act as a near-term catalyst for NationGate, which stands to benefit from improved visibility and demand recovery in AI-related module assembly, according to Kenanga Investment Bank in a note to clients.
Year to date, NationGate and YTL Power’s share prices have declined by over 39% and 17% respectively since the AI diffusion restrictions were first introduced in January 2025, along with the emergence of China’s DeepSeek.
Bloomberg data showed that analysts currently have five ‘buy’ ratings and one ‘hold’ rating for NationGate, with no ‘sell’ recommendations. The 12-month target price (TP) stands at RM2.13, representing a 34.8% upside potential from the closing price.
As for YTL Power, 13 analysts have ‘buy’ calls, one has a ‘sell’ rating, and none have a ‘hold’. The 12-month TP is RM4.89, implying a 35.1% upside from the closing price.