Nasdaq rises as AI and semiconductor stocks recover ahead of earnings

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.11% on Oct. 19, adding 290.85 points to close at 26,430.89.

Chips stage a comeback after a historic slide

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.”

AI cloud names split the difference

Nebius rose 2.9%, while Iren added 2.7%.

CoreWeave told a different story. The stock rallied early in the session but faded, finishing down 0.4%.

TSMC offers a fundamental anchor

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.

The worries have not gone anywhere

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.

What this means for investors

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.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.