During regular trading on September 18, the optical communication sector advanced broadly with all mainstream names closing higher. AAOI stood out, closing at $105.17, up 7.25% from the previous session. COHR followed closely, gaining 7.22% to $317.36. LITE rose 4.17% to $930.91, POET gained 3.86% to $7.80, and AXTI advanced 3.37% to $70.03.

The sector's strength today was primarily driven by sustained heating in AI computing demand. With surging requirements for large model training and inference, high-speed optical module orders remain robust, benefiting players across the supply chain. Analysts noted strong demand for 800G and 1.6T optical modules, leading to upward revisions in earnings expectations for related names and driving share prices higher. MRVL, a data center chip leader, also gained 1.45% to $244.25, GLW rose 1.58% to $150.13, and NOK advanced 0.75% to $10.68.

Among derivative names, AAOX led the sector with a 13.83% gain to $10.45; LITX rose 7.99% to $31.37; MVLL gained 3.06% to $30.99. However, LITZ bucked the trend, falling 8.84% to $6.60, indicating notable divergence within the sector. As of press time, the sector saw active trading volume with clear signs of capital inflows.

Sector constituents