NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes were mixed on Thursday, as financial companies dragged while chip stocks extended their rally following a strong quarterly update from TSMC that reinforced investor optimism around AI.
TSMC raised its full-year revenue forecast on a bullish outlook for spending on artificial intelligence. US-listed shares of the world’s biggest producer of advanced chips fell 1.6 percent after rising more than 2 percent premarket.
Shares of some major US chipmakers also advanced, building on gains from Wednesday when ASML’s solid quarterly results and a USD40 billion data center deal by BlackRock and a Nvidia-backed group fueled optimism around AI.
Nvidia rose 1 percent, Micron Technology added 5.6 percent and Broadcom gained 1.1 percent. The S&P 500 tech sector rose 0.4 percent.
Salesforce rose 4.1 percent as it forecast revenue of more than USD60 billion for 2030, above Wall Street estimates.
“The Nasdaq is having a pretty good day, being driven higher by the semiconductors and the software side of things,” said Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“There has been some concern about the potential for AI to automate software functions and so I think the market is unwinding some of those concerns today.”
The AI-driven momentum and optimism around US interest rate cuts have helped markets in recent months.
Robust earnings from major US banks also grabbed attention this week, offering fresh signs of economic resilience at a time when official macroeconomic reports remain delayed due to an ongoing government shutdown.
At 11:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 63.60 points, or 0.14 percent, to 46,189.71, the S&P 500 lost 6.93 points, or 0.10 percent, to 6,664.13 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 16.33 points, or 0.07 percent, to 22,686.41.
The S&P 500 financials index declined 1.3 percent. The S&P 500 insurance index dropped 3.3 percent to an over two-month low. Insurers Travelers and Marsh & Mclennan reported quarterly results and fell 3 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, investors were awaiting developments on the US-China trade front after tensions resurfaced on Friday over China’s rare earth export curbs.
China accused the US on Thursday of stoking panic over its rare earth controls and rejected a White House call to roll back the curbs.
Top US officials on Wednesday had called the controls a threat to global supply chains, while stressing that Washington did not want to escalate the conflict.
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