The ceasefire held for another week and Wall Street decided to resume the AI-driven semiconductor rally.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) logged its 18th consecutive day of gains this past week — a streak without precedent in the industry’s history, during a wave of blowout earnings and analyst upgrades.
Intel led the charge. Shares surged past levels not seen since August 2000 — at the very peak of the dot-com bubble — after the company delivered blowout first-quarter results. The stock was up 85% this month alone, on pace for the best month in Intel’s history.
AMD rose 25% this past week, pushing its month-to-date gain past 60% — the stock’s best month since January 2001. Texas Instruments rallied 19% after its own strong quarterly results, its best week since December 2000.
The common thread: Al infrastructure spending accelerated, and the war’s disruption to supply chains has not slowed it.
The Nasdaq 100 closed above 27,000 for the first time, notching its fourth consecutive week of gains. The broader market was more measured.
The S&P 500 spent the week hovering near records at 7,100 — a level that, just four weeks ago, would have seemed impossible.
With 88% of companies that have reported so far beating estimates — well above the 10-year average of 76% — the earnings season is providing a floor.
The geopolitical picture, however, remained treacherous.
On Monday, April 20, with the ceasefire set to expire at midnight, President Donald Trump extended it indefinitely. Yet, an expected visit by Vice President JD Vance to Islamabad for a second round of talks was quietly put on hold.
Oil crept back near $100 a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed.
Markets shrugged — at least for now — but the damage on consumer confidence became harder to ignore.
The University of Michigan’s final April Consumer Sentiment reading was revised slightly higher to 49.8 from an initial estimate of 47.6 — but it remained the weakest reading ever recorded.
Benzinga is a financial news and data company headquartered in Detroit.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Semiconductors rewrite market history as Intel leads the charge
Reporting by Benzinga / Detroit Free Press
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