FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Disappointing projections from the US semiconductor group Micron Technology for the current financial quarter are likely to put additional pressure on the sector in an already weak stock market environment. On Tradegate, Infineon lost 2 percent and Aixtron 3 percent compared to their Xetra closing prices on the previous day. Elmos Semiconductor and Jenoptik also showed price weakness.

The US semiconductor group has forecast sales of 7.9 billion US dollars plus/minus 200 million for the second quarter. According to analyst Masahiro Nakanomyo from Jefferies, the consensus estimate is 8.9 billion dollars. This is a good nine percent above the upper end of Micron's target range and almost 14 percent above the lower end. The company's earnings per share forecast for the second quarter is even weaker, according to Nakanomyo./bek/jha/