Micron falls after report of Chinese rival CXMT's expansion plan

Western Digital

03/08/2026 14:13

** Memory chip-maker Micron Technology MU.O falls 4.1% to $789.85 in pre-market trading 
** Chinese rival CXMT 688825.SS plans a second memory-chip plant in Beijing and is in financing talks with a tech manufacturing hub backed by the local government, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters
** The move by China's largest chipmaker aims to boost production amid strong global demand driven by AI, intensifying competition for major DRAM producers including MU
** While CXMT is smaller than global leaders Micron, Samsung 005930.KS and SK Hynix 000660.KS, its growth is part of Beijing's push for self-sufficiency in the chip industry, a potential long-term risk for incumbents
** Other U.S. data-storage and flash-memory stocks also fall, with Seagate STX.O, Western Digital WDC.O and SanDisk SNDK.O down over 3% each
** As of Friday's close, MU is up about 188% YTD, far outpacing the 9.2% rise in the Nasdaq .IXIC, though shares remain ~34% below their all-time intraday high from June 2026

 (Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru)
 ((Ragini.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))