Market Update: S&P 500 Gains on Chipmaker Excitement
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 saw a rise, fueled by renewed enthusiasm for chipmakers, prompting traders to dive back into those stocks. Meanwhile, investors kept an eye on falling oil prices and sifted through various corporate earnings reports as the Federal Reserve began its two-day policy meeting.
The broad market index increased by 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 107 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite also made notable gains, rising 1.3%.
Broadcom’s shares surged more than 3%, bolstered by a coalition of major banks—Bank of America, Citi, and Morgan Stanley—along with Blackstone, which announced a remarkable $63 billion in financing aimed at securing Broadcom’s technology for Anthropic. Other chip manufacturers followed suit, with Micron Technology increasing over 1% and Advanced Micro Devices advancing nearly 3%.
This uptick in stock prices built on gains from the previous trading day, where the major indices had a strong performance, thanks largely to a boost in artificial intelligence-related stocks following Anthropic’s filing to go public on the Nasdaq. This would be another significant tech IPO for 2026, following SpaceX’s notable listing in June.
“The market goes through phases of anxiety over AI spending, but then, it often rebounds and tech stocks lead the way up,” commented Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “We seem to have had the lights off for a couple of weeks, but this week, it’s like they’ve flicked back on.”
Even amid recent worries, Ellerbroek remains optimistic about companies managing data centers, indicating they are likely to keep growing. However, he noted that the unpredictable nature of capital markets could pose a risk.
A drop in oil prices also supported market sentiment on Tuesday, influenced by discussions between Iranian leaders regarding the conditions for concluding ongoing conflicts. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell about 1% to roughly $100 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent crude slipped over 1% to around $114.
In other market news, JetBlue’s stock soared by 20% despite the airline reporting a larger-than-expected loss for the third quarter. The company shared optimistic projections for margin growth in the upcoming quarter. Conversely, UPS shares increased slightly after exceeding third-quarter expectations, while Whirlpool’s stock fell more than 1% after reporting an unexpected quarterly loss.
As the Fed commenced its latest monetary policy meeting, it’s anticipated that there will be no change in interest rates. Yet, traders are attentively looking for hints about potential rate hikes before the year concludes.
“This seems like a relatively uneventful Fed meeting under Warsh,” Ellerbroek mentioned. “It appears they might strive for more predictable communication going forward, but it looks like we’ll have a quieter meeting this time, likely due to the midterm elections next week. I suspect the next meeting in December will be anything but dull.”
