(Bloomberg) — European equities rose on Wednesday ahead of central-bank decisions in the US and Britain, with gains led by a rally in semiconductor stocks. 

The Stoxx Europe 600 traded 0.8% higher at the close in Paris, ending July with a monthly gain of about 1.3%. Tech was by far the best performing sector of Wednesday, with ASML Holding NV surging as much as 11% after Reuters reported that the Biden administration would exempt a number of foreign chip-equipment makers from upcoming export restrictions. 

“We’re already full on on ASML so we can’t reinforce ourselves but if we could, and the news was confirmed, this would be a good entry point,” said Fares Hendi, portfolio manager at asset manager SG Prevoir in Paris. 

Second-quarter earnings releases also helped reinforce the rally, with HSBC Holdings Plc adding about 4% after Noel Quinn signed off his final quarter as chief executive officer by announcing a further return of $3 billion to shareholders. Airbus SE gained as much as 7.2% after the airplane manufacturer’s second-quarter results topped expectations.  

Trading on the Swiss stock market was halted from 10 a.m. Zurich time and restarted later in the day after technical issues, SIX Swiss Exchange said.

In the US, Microsoft Corp.’s results on Tuesday have added to concern the artificial-intelligence frenzy might have gone too far. Shares of the company are down 1.4% in regular trading in the US on Wednesday. Meta Platforms Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc., are still due to report earnings. 

“We see this as an opportunity to get in rather than out,” Jacques Henry, head of cross-asset research at Silex in Geneva, said of tech shares, noting that second-quarter earnings had overall been positive in the sector so far.

On the central banking front, the Federal Reserve could signal an interest-rate cut at its September meeting, while money markets see a more than 50% chance the Bank of England will ease policy at its Thursday meeting. Earlier, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates, sparking a rally in Japanese bank shares. 

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–With assistance from Rheaa Rao.

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