U.S. Stocks Rise Across the Board on Strong TSMC Earnings... Nasdaq Up 1%

Semiconductor Stocks Surge, Led by AMD and Micron
Strong Financial Earnings and Falling Oil Prices Support Investor Sentiment
Weekly Jobless Claims Come in Below Expectations

All three major indices on the New York Stock Exchange rose simultaneously on January 15 (local time). Strong earnings from Taiwan's TSMC led a rebound in technology stocks, particularly among semiconductor shares, pushing the indices higher.

A trader is working on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the United States. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

As of 9:45 a.m. on the New York Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 137.01 points (0.28%) at 49,286.64 compared to the previous trading day. The large-cap S&P 500 Index rose 43.58 points (0.63%) to 6,970.18, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index jumped 238.599 points (1.02%) to 23,710.348.

By sector, semiconductor stocks were particularly strong. AMD surged 4.95%. Micron was up 3.52%, and Nvidia rose 2.93%. Financial stocks also performed well. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs gained 3.1% and 1.48%, respectively, after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded market expectations.

Strong results from TSMC, a global foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) company, boosted investor sentiment for technology stocks, especially semiconductors. TSMC announced that its fourth-quarter 2025 revenue reached $33.73 billion and net profit was $16.3 billion, up 21% and 35% year-on-year, respectively. As a result, TSMC achieved record annual revenue and profit in 2025. The surge in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, combined with TSMC's exclusive supply to major AI chip design companies such as Nvidia, drove these improved results.

However, policy uncertainty remains a variable. President Donald Trump stated the previous day that he would impose a 25% tariff on imported semiconductors that do not contribute to the United States and expand its scope, raising concerns about the potential impact on global semiconductor companies.

Employment data released this morning indicated continued labor market strength despite concerns about a slowdown. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of new unemployment claims for the week of January 4-10 was 198,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week’s 207,000 and below the market forecast of 215,000. Continuing claims for unemployment benefits, which track those receiving benefits for more than two weeks, totaled 1,884,000 for the week of December 28-January 3, down 6,000 from the previous week (1,890,000) and also below the market estimate of 1,903,000.

The decline in international oil prices is also supporting investor sentiment. After President Trump indicated the previous day that he had "heard that killings in Iran are stopping," suggesting he may not use military options against Iran, oil prices fell sharply. As of 9:48 a.m. Eastern Time on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $2.82 (4.55%) from the previous session at $59.20 per barrel, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, was trading at $63.64 per barrel, down $2.88 (4.33%) from the previous day.

U.S. Treasury yields saw a slight uptick. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, the global bond market benchmark, rose by 1 basis point (1bp = 0.01 percentage point) from the previous day to 4.15%. The 2-year U.S. Treasury yield, which is sensitive to monetary policy, increased by 2 basis points to 3.54%.