Chipmakers bounced back from their longest losing streak since October 2008, but questions about AI spending still hang over the sector
The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.11% on Oct. 19, adding 290.85 points to close at 26,430.89.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose about 1.6% to 2% on the session.
That gain matters because of what came before it. The index had dropped 15.7% over eight straight trading days, its longest losing streak since October 2008.
Intel gained 2.4% after J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to “neutral” from “underweight.”
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CoreWeave told a different story. The stock rallied early in the session but faded, finishing down 0.4%.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported third-quarter revenue of $46.7 billion. That figure topped the company’s own forecast range of $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion and represented 41% growth from a year earlier.
Concerns persist about whether hyperscaler spending can keep going at its current pace. Investors are also questioning whether all that AI capital spending will eventually turn a profit.
Two additional pressure points loom over the picture: rising interest rates and growing debt levels among data-center operators.
The upcoming earnings reports will likely do the heavy lifting from here. Results and spending commentary from major tech companies will help answer whether the eight-day slide was a temporary panic or an early warning. Guidance on capital expenditures in particular will be scrutinized, since it effectively sets the budget for the chip industry’s next few quarters.