[New York Stock Market] Semiconductor and Financial Stocks Lead Broad Gains... International Oil Prices Plunge Over 4%

Semiconductor Stocks Rise on TSMC Earnings and Investment Plans
Financials and Cyclical Small Caps Rally on Strong Results
Weekly Jobless Claims Come in Below Expectations
Oil Prices Drop After Trump Says "Killings in Iran Have Stopped"

On January 15 (local time), all three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher. Strong earnings from Taiwan's TSMC led a rebound in technology stocks, particularly among semiconductor shares, while banking stocks also performed well, lifting the indexes.

On the 15th (local time), a trader is working on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the United States. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

On this day at the New York Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 49,442.44, up 292.81 points (0.6%) from the previous session. The S&P 500 Index, which focuses on large-cap stocks, rose 17.87 points (0.26%) to 6,944.47, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index gained 58.272 points (0.25%) to close at 23,530.022.

By sector, semiconductor stocks showed notable strength. Nvidia jumped 2.1%. AMD rose 1.93%, and Micron advanced 0.98%. Financial stocks also posted solid gains. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley climbed 4.63% and 0.67%, respectively, after reporting fourth-quarter results that exceeded market expectations. Buying interest also flowed into small and mid-cap stocks sensitive to economic cycles, sending the Russell 2000 Index up 0.86%.

Robust earnings and investment plans from global foundry company TSMC boosted investor sentiment in technology stocks, especially semiconductors. TSMC announced that its fourth-quarter 2025 revenue reached $33.73 billion, and net profit was $16.3 billion. These figures represent increases of 21% and 35%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. As a result, TSMC achieved record annual revenue and profit in 2025. The improvement was driven by surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and TSMC's exclusive supply to major AI chip designers such as Nvidia. Additionally, the company announced plans to invest up to $56 billion in capital expenditures this year, which helped dispel concerns of an AI bubble.

Kim Forrest, Chief Investment Officer at Bokeh Capital Partners, said, "Today's results from TSMC and its significant capital investment plans confirm to investors that AI investment may not be a bubble at this point," adding, "TSMC will deploy massive funds to expand its production capacity."

However, policy uncertainty remains a variable. Former 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 the scope of application, drawing attention to the potential impact on global semiconductor companies.

The employment data released in the morning indicated that the labor market remains resilient despite concerns about a slowdown. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, new jobless claims for the week of January 4-10 totaled 198,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's 207,000 and below the market forecast of 215,000. Continuing jobless claims for those receiving benefits for more than two weeks stood at 1,884,000 for the period December 28 to January 3, down 6,000 from the previous week's 1,890,000 and also below the market expectation of 1,903,000.

A decline in international oil prices also supported investor sentiment. After former President Trump hinted the previous day that he might not use military options against Iran, saying, "I heard the killings in Iran have stopped," oil prices fell sharply. On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $2.83 (4.56%) from the previous session to $59.19 per barrel, while Brent crude, the global oil price benchmark, fell $2.76 (4.15%) to $63.76 per barrel.

U.S. Treasury yields are on the rise. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 3 basis points (1bp = 0.01 percentage point) from the previous day to 4.17%, while the yield on the 2-year note, which is sensitive to monetary policy, climbed 5 basis points to 3.56%.