Chipmakers expect rally

"The recent buying into technology stocks doesn't necessarily mean people are more optimistic about the outlook," said Pascal Masse, who helps oversee US$9.3 billion in Asia-Pacific equities for Aberdeen Asset Management in Singapore.

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd (特許半導體), Singapore's biggest chipmaker, said last week that first-quarter sales will be below its January forecast of US$183 million. The company cited slowing demand for devices such as mobile phones.

The industry backdrop has meant some of the stocks are at relatively low price-to-earnings ratios. Samsung trades at 7.4 times forecast earnings and TSMC is at 13.2 times, while MSCI's technology index is valued at 21 times.