Intel’s 14% surge and a broad chip rally pushed the Nasdaq to an all-time high on Tuesday.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday, capping a broad and decisive market rally driven by a surge in artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks. With geopolitical tensions easing and corporate earnings coming in well above expectations, investors poured money into some of the market’s most closely watched names, pushing equities higher across the board.
Three AI-related stocks were at the center of Tuesday’s action, each adding significant momentum to a market that is increasingly shaped by the technology sector’s growing dominance.
1. Intel surged 14% — its sharpest single-day advance in recent memory — after Bloomberg News reported that Apple had held exploratory discussions about enlisting the company’s chipmaking services to produce the main processors for its devices. The news sent a jolt through the broader chip sector and lent fresh credibility to Intel’s ongoing effort to establish itself as a serious contract manufacturer in the AI era.
2. AMD rallied 4.4% ahead of its quarterly earnings report, due after the market closed. Investors have been watching the chip designer closely, given its growing footprint in the AI accelerator market and its reputation as one of the sector’s most reliable performance indicators heading into earnings season.
3. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index jumped 4.7% to a record high of its own, reflecting the broad enthusiasm for chip-related investments that has defined much of the 2026 trading year. Its simultaneous record close alongside the Nasdaq underscored just how central the semiconductor industry has become to the overall direction of U.S. equity markets.
The broader market picture
The gains spread well beyond the chip sector. The S&P 500 rose 0.89% to close at 7,264.87, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.62% to finish at 49,243.90. With Tuesday’s advance, the Nasdaq Composite is now up 9% for the year, firmly reestablishing itself as the market’s leading benchmark.
Nine of the 11 main S&P 500 sector indexes finished higher, led by a nearly 2% gain in materials. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a ratio of 2.63 to 1, with 432 new highs recorded against just 77 new lows.
Earnings driving confidence
Underpinning much of Tuesday’s optimism was a rapidly improving earnings picture. S&P 500 companies are now expected to post aggregate earnings growth of 28% year-over-year for the first quarter — double the 14% projection analysts held at the start of April, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. Much of that upward revision is tied to accelerating AI-related spending, with analysts noting that business investment in productivity tools remains healthy and consumer spending continues to hold up.
Several individual companies added to the positive mood. DuPont gained 7.6% after raising its annual profit forecast. Pinterest soared 9.3% after projecting second-quarter revenue above analyst estimates. Archer-Daniels-Midland added 1.2% following a better-than-expected first-quarter profit on higher margins.
What else moved markets
Brent crude futures fell but remained elevated at $110 a barrel, easing after Washington confirmed that its ceasefire with Iran was still intact. The development calmed fears that a standoff over control of the Strait of Hormuz could escalate and disrupt global oil supplies.
On the economic data front, U.S. job openings fell to 6.866 million in March, slightly above the estimate of 6.835 million. The Institute for Supply Management’s Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for April came in at 53.6, narrowly below the estimate of 53.7. Together, the readings reinforced the view that a resilient labor market could give the Federal Reserve room to keep interest rates elevated — a prospect markets appeared willing to accept, given the strength of corporate earnings driving the broader rally.
Source: Reuters