Chip stocks have tumbled so far this year on inflation concerns and the prospect of a conflict in Russia and Ukraine exacerbate supply chain challenges, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF down 15% this year through Wednesday’s close, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 have each lost 12%. % and 6.8%.

Intel surged nearly 7% on Thursday, its biggest one-day gain in more than a year. Intel Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger said on Capitol Hill on Thursday that government subsidies for domestic manufacturing would improve U.S. national security and help address the current semiconductor shortage.

Semiconductor shortages have plagued the auto industry and other key sectors of the economy, Kissinger said: “For the past 50 years, oil reserves have defined geopolitics, but for the digital future, fabs are even more important.”

Intel plans to spend at least $20 billion on an integrated chip factory in Ohio, and this month announced plans to spend $36 billion on new “megafactories” in Germany and other European centers

“Let’s build factories where we want and define it in the world, we want to be part of America and Europe,” he said.

A Labor Department report showed initial jobless claims fell last week to the lowest level since 1969, boosting chip stocks as investors snapped up stocks that could benefit from the U.S. economic recovery.

AMD (AMD-US) rose 5.8% on Thursday; Broadcom (AVGO-US) rose 4.5%; Qualcomm (QCOM-US) rose 3.66%. However, all three are still down so far this year.