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FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Disappointing forecasts from the US semiconductor group Micron Technology for the current financial quarter have put additional pressure on the chip sector in an already weak stock market environment. In the Dax, Infineon lost 3 percent. In the MDax, Aixtron lost 3.6 percent and Siltronic 4.2 percent. Micron shares had slumped by 16 percent the previous evening.

The US semiconductor company had forecast sales of 7.9 billion US dollars plus/minus 200 million for the second quarter. According to analyst Masahiro Nakanomyo from the US bank Jefferies, the consensus estimate is 8.9 billion dollars. This is well above Micron's target range.

The company's forecast for earnings per share in the second quarter is even weaker, according to Nakanomyo. The reason for this is an expected deterioration in profitability in the NAND flash memory business. Micron had announced earnings per share of 1.43 US dollars plus/minus 0.10 dollars. This means that the target is at least 20 percent below the average market expectation and, in the worst case, 30 percent below it.

Among the second-line stocks in the SDax, there were also price losses for shares from the semiconductor sector. Elmos Semiconductor lost 2.4 percent and the shares of system manufacturer PVA Tepla 2.2 percent. Süss Microtec fell by 2.7 percent.

Analyst Harlan Sur from JPMorgan attested Micron Technology a weak business quarter at the end of November and also a gloomy outlook for the current quarter. However, he considers the weak demand for memory chips to be temporary and predicts an improvement in the further course of the year. The supply of high-quality DRAM memory components remains scarce and the strong demand for AI mainframes is ensuring growth in other segments./bek/ajx/jha/