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 gro...