STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-ASMI shares at 8-month high on Intel stake

Shares in ASM International (ASMI.AS) which makes equipment used for processing, assembly and packaging of semiconductors, rise almost 19 percent to an 8-month high after the world's biggest chip maker Intel (INTC.O) said it had bought a 4 percent stake in the company.

ASMI shares are the biggest winner on the Amsterdam stock market and were outperforming a 1 percent higher midcap index .AMX.

"The moment one of your main customers takes a stake in your company, that can be seen as a good sign," Petercam analyst Eric de Graaf says.

Intel is the second customer to buy a significant stake in recent days. ASMI said last week Tokyo Electron (8035.T) has taken a 4.9 percent stake in the company.

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