US Stock Market

AI and chip stocks took the wheel today, pulling the big indexes back toward record territory, even as war headlines and an ongoing energy shock stayed in the background. If you’re looking at your screen thinking, “How is the market up with all this going on?” you’re not alone—but money clearly flowed back into riskier, growth‑y names.

The day in a sentence

Tech and high‑beta stocks ripped higher—especially anything tied to AI chips—lifting the Nasdaq and small caps, while energy slumped and bond yields eased as traders leaned into peace‑talk optimism over Iran.

What actually moved

As trading resumed after the long weekend, the S&P 500 climbed about 0.6%, the Nasdaq jumped more than 1%, and small caps surged nearly 2%. The Dow, though, slipped slightly, which tells you this was not a “everything up” kind of day—it was a growth and AI day.

Semiconductors were the poster child. Micron rallied almost 20%, AMD nearly 8%, and other chip names like Intel and Tesla-adjacent AI plays moved sharply higher. Sector-wise, technology was up almost 2.7%, easily topping the board, with industrials and basic materials also solidly green.

At the same time, the equal‑weight index—where every stock counts the same—was up a bit more than 1%. That’s important: this wasn’t just the usual “Magnificent Seven” show, even though their earnings have surged over 60% year‑on‑year. Smaller and more cyclical names joined in.