Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rises 2.82%; Nvidia and Micron advance together
Anthropic's IPO push boosts AI sentiment; Meta falls after unveiling capital-raising plan
U.S. stocks finished higher on October 26 (local time), powered by strength in the semiconductor sector. Major chipmakers including Nvidia, Micron, and AMD advanced in unison, while Tesla rallied more than 5%. However, Apple, Alphabet, and Meta moved lower, highlighting divergence in share price trajectories even among mega-cap tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 146.42 points, or 0.28%, at 52,361.58. The S&P 500 gained 53.09 points, or 0.70%, to 7,676.77, while the Nasdaq Composite finished up 214.04 points, or 0.82%, at 26,169.38.
The gains in the semiconductor industry outpaced the broader major indexes. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 304.01 points, or 2.82%, to 11,083.47. Nvidia climbed 2.39%, Broadcom gained 2.33%, and Micron and AMD moved up 2.98% and 2.80%, respectively.
The upward momentum extended beyond chip design and memory to equipment suppliers. Intel jumped 4.04%, Texas Instruments advanced 4.72%, and Lam Research and Applied Materials rose 3.22% and 2.74%, respectively.
News regarding artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic's pursuit of an initial public offering (IPO) also drew attention. Anthropic filed its registration statement for a U.S. listing during the session. Reuters reported that the public filing supported investor sentiment toward AI-related stocks. Despite this rebound, however, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index remains down roughly 12.2% for the month.
Among large-cap stocks, Tesla stood out with a significant gain. The stock finished up 5.21% at $391.62. According to foreign media reports, Barclays upgraded its rating on Tesla to "Overweight" and raised its price target from $370 to $450. The valuation reflected improvements in core operations, progress in the robotaxi business, and potential merger prospects with SpaceX.
Microsoft rose 1.54% and Amazon gained 0.44%. In contrast, Apple fell 1.10% and Alphabet Class A shares declined 1.06%. Software stocks also showed mixed movements, with Palo Alto Networks rising 2.60% and CrowdStrike advancing 1.65%, while Adobe dropped 1.97%.
Meta shares fell 1.88% after the company unveiled a massive capital-raising plan to fund AI investments. The company announced it would raise approximately $35,000,000,000 through common stock and mandatorily redeemable preferred stock offerings, and pursue an additional share sale program of up to $60,000,000,000 once trading of non-voting Class C shares commences. Combined, the two plans total up to $95,000,000,000.
Trading of the non-voting Class C shares is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027. The additional stock sale program will proceed following the launch of Class C share trading, with specific implementation timing and terms yet to be finalized.
Outside of technology, power equipment and defense stocks showed strength. GE Vernova rose 4.92% and Eaton gained 1.59%. Lockheed Martin and RTX climbed 5.13% and 3.39%, respectively. In financials, Goldman Sachs advanced 2.01%, Morgan Stanley rose 2.23%, and JPMorgan Chase gained 0.74%.
Conversely, telecommunications, media, and select healthcare stocks were weak. Verizon dropped 3.49%, Netflix fell 2.96%, and Merck and UnitedHealth declined 3.21% and 1.77%, respectively.
This week features key tech earnings and a U.S. monetary policy decision. Alphabet and Microsoft are scheduled to report earnings on October 28, followed by Amazon on October 29, offering a window to assess growth in AI-related businesses and capital expenditure plans. The Federal Reserve is holding its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting from October 27 to 28, with the rate decision to be announced on October 28.
