TSMC posts record results…Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rises 1.76% [New York Stock Market Briefing]

Wall Street’s three major equity benchmarks ended higher. Taiwan’s TSMC set a new record for results, lifting investor sentiment across the semiconductor sector. Still, major indexes gave back gains quickly in the afternoon, signaling resistance at elevated levels.

On the 15th (local time), near the close on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 292.81 points (0.60%) at 49,442.44. The S&P 500 rose 17.87 points (0.26%) to 6,944.47, and the Nasdaq Composite added 58.27 points (0.25%) to end at 23,530.02.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, posted its strongest-ever performance last year on robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips and forecast revenue would climb about 30% year on year in 2025.

Its announcement that it would raise capital expenditures to between $52 billion and $56 billion this year further reinforced optimism around the AI industry.

On the news, AI and semiconductor-related shares broadly advanced. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 1.76% and was up as much as 3.85% intraday.

Nvidia rose more than 2%, while TSMC, ASML, Lam Research and Applied Materials gained around 5%.

ASML’s market capitalization surpassed $500 billion for the first time in the company’s history.

Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners, said, “TSMC’s results and capex plans helped convince investors that the AI industry is not a bubble,” adding, “TSMC will invest heavily to expand production capacity.”

However, major indexes also pared gains in the afternoon, reflecting pushback at highs.

The Nasdaq was up more than 1% intraday and the S&P 500 rose more than 0.7%, but both finished with gains in the 0.2% range.

Technology stocks also faced increased downside pressure after reports that the U.S. and Taiwan had reached a deal on reciprocal tariffs. The U.S. agreed to cut Taiwan’s reciprocal tariff rate to 15%, while Taiwanese semiconductor companies committed to invest $250 billion in the United States—an obligation that would largely fall on TSMC.

Wall Street bellwethers Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs both surged about 5%, helped by fourth-quarter results that topped expectations.

By contrast, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo hovered around flat again as concerns persisted over the possibility of a cap on credit-card interest rates.

Semiconductors were strong, but tech broadly was not uniformly higher.

Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Tesla were slightly lower, while Amazon, Broadcom and Meta were modestly higher. Meanwhile, traditional industrial names such as UnitedHealth Group, Caterpillar, Cisco Systems and Boeing also posted solid moves of around 2%.

Shin Min-kyung, Hankyung.com reporter radio@hankyung.com