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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights XSD, PSI, SMH, FTXL, SOXQ and SOXX

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 24, 2025 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks and ETFs featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. ETFs recently featured in the blog include: S&P Semiconductor SPDR XSD, Dynamic Semiconductors Invesco ETF PSI, VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH, First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF FTXL, Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXQ - Free Report) and iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX.

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Here's Why Semiconductor ETFs Are at 52-Week Highs

The semiconductor space has been hot lately. Almost all exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been striking 52-week highs. These ETFs include S&P Semiconductor SPDR, Dynamic Semiconductors Invesco ETF, VanEck Semiconductor ETF, First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF, Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF and iShares Semiconductor ETF. These ETFs have gained in the range of 8% to 14% over the past one month.

Let’s find out what’s cooking up in the sector.

Huge AI Investments Scheduled in the UK

Trump and Britain joined forces on advancing AI, quantum computing and nuclear technologies. Microsoft, NVIDIA, Alphabet and tech giants plan over $40 billion of new AI investments in the United Kingdom, as quoted on CNBC. Microsoft will be investing $30 billion in the U.K. between 2025 and 2028, including $15.5 billion in additional capital commitments, the same CNBC article reported.

NVIDIA recently announced £11 billion ($15 billion) in investment in the U.K. with partners Nscale and U.S.-based cloud-computing company CoreWeave. NVIDIA plans to deploy 120,000 Blackwell GPU chips in the United Kingdom. The deployment marks its largest-ever deployment in Europe, according to the same CNBC source.

Google announced a £5 billion ($6.8 billion) investment in U.K. AI development, as quoted on CNBC.Google also unveiled the opening of its new state-of-the-art data center near London, the same CNBC article revealed.

NVIDIA’s Investment in Intel

Meanwhile, NVIDIA announced a $5 billion investment in Intel, as part of a deal to co-develop data center and PC chips with the latter. Intel shares soared 22.8% on Sept. 18 after the $5 billion NVIDIA investment, which marked Intel’s best day in about 38 years, as quoted on CNBC.

NVIDIA now joins Softbank and the U.S. government in facilitating Intel’s turnaround. Note that the U.S. government acquired a 10% stake in Intel in August. SoftBank also made a $2 billion investment in Intel in August, as quoted on CNBC.

NVIDIA’s Investment in OpenAI

On Sept. 22, 2025, NVIDIA announced that it plans to invest up to $100 billion in artificial intelligence startup OpenAI under a newly announced agreement, per a Reuters article, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.

The firms signed a letter of intent for a strategic partnership that will see OpenAI deploy at least 10 gigawatts of NVIDIA chips to power its AI infrastructure. The first phase of deployment is scheduled for the second half of 2026.

Rigetti Computing- Air Force Deal

In the meantime, Rigetti Computing has recently been awarded a three-year $5.8 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to advance superconducting quantum networking. Rigetti will partner with QphoX, a Dutch quantum startup focused on advanced frequency conversion systems for quantum applications.

Bottom Line

With semiconductor being the backbone of the above-mentioned technologies, ETFs like XSD, SOXX and SMH had every reason to rally.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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