Chip stocks lead a second-day rally as Nasdaq climbs 1.18% ahead of the Fed

A broad semiconductor index jumped 3.6% and SK hynix posted record profit, but NXP and Seagate slipped after hours before a Fed decision and results from Alphabet and Microsoft.

Deepakshi

Kristal Research & Marketing team

28 Oct2 min

Key takeaways — AI summary

The Nasdaq rose 1.18% to 26,477.81 and the S&P 500 gained 0.60% to 7,722.60 on a second day of chip strength, as a broad semiconductor index jumped 3.6%; the Dow was flat, up 0.03%.
Chip optimism carried into Asia: SK hynix reported record quarterly operating profit of 83.33 trillion won ($62.8 billion), up 632% year-on-year, lifting Seoul's KOSPI 2.93% and Japan's Nikkei 0.65%.
The rally was narrow — Accenture fell 5% and HubSpot 4.9% as perceived AI losers, while energy dropped 1.95% as WTI crude slipped 1.83% to $99.90 after Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani officials met Iran in Tehran; gold was flat near $4,060.
AI-financing deals drove sentiment, including a $63 billion package backed by three big banks and Blackstone to let Anthropic buy Broadcom chips; UBS estimates $70-75 billion of Broadcom guarantees, while cloud-company credit insurance costs have roughly tripled since late 2025.
Bonds sat still with the 10-year Treasury yield flat near 4.99% ahead of the Fed; traders price about a 10% chance of a hike and 80-90% odds of a quarter-point move in December, per CME Group.

Generated by Kristal AI · reviewed by the research desk

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