Major indexes caught their breath in the stock market today, accepting small losses after galloping strongly the prior session, sparked by an encouraging report on U.S. consumer prices. Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) and Broadcom (AVGO) led the upside after the former announced solid quarterly revenue.
Taiwan Semi — one of the largest tech firms in the world and the top foundry to many of the AI chip sellers — gapped up at the open and rallied as much as 7%. At the early morning high of 221.95, TSMC moved past the 5% buy zone after doodling around a 205.63 buy point in a relatively taut cup with handle.
IBD Tech News: Chip Foundry Taiwan Semi Tops Q4 Estimates
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The Nasdaq composite, fresh from a nearly 2.5% advance on Wednesday, tried to add to those juicy gains Thursday morning. But after rising modestly, the index edged almost 0.2% lower. At the early-morning high of 19,579, the Nasdaq rallied all of 0.3%.
In 2024, the Nasdaq strode 28.6% higher to a year-end close of 19,310.
Technically, the Nasdaq powered above its rising 50-day moving average, indicating demand for equities likely remains healthy.
The S&P 500, which rose 1.8% on Wednesday, set its sights on a fourth straight gain. But the large-cap benchmark inched around 0.1% lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off merely 0.2% after jumping 703 points on Wednesday, or nearly 1.7%.
Notice on a daily chart how the Dow industrials is still likely to spend a 20th consecutive session beneath its key 50-day moving average. That said, some of its components have had a bullish start to the new year.
Goldman Sachs (GS) rallied more than 1% and cleared a 612.73 buy point within a shallow seven-week base. The Wall Street firm Wednesday posted a 118% pole vault in earnings to $11.95 a share, building upon EPS increases of 32%, 180% and 54% in the prior three quarters. But UnitedHealth (UNH) slumped more than 4% after its Q4 results signaled high expenses.
Volume in the stock market today was running 1% lower vs. the same time on Wednesday on the Nasdaq and 11% slower on the New York Stock Exchange.
Taiwan Semi: 91 Relative Strength Rating
Going back to Taiwan Semi, the Asian tech giant reported revenue guidance of $25 billion to $25.8 billion for the current quarter, nicely above FactSet’s $24.6 billion estimate.
Semiconductor sector peer Broadcom showed choppy movement in the first hour of trading. That said, the diversified chip titan rose more than 3% and hopped past a 235 aggressive buy point based on a short trendline.
Broadcom does not report January-quarter results until Feb. 27, according to MarketSurge. In the fiscal third quarter, the company posted earnings growth of 28% to $1.42 a share on a 51% leap in sales to $14.05 billion.
The PHLX Semiconductor Index rose 1.1%.
Please follow Chung on X/Twitter: @saitochung and @IBD_DChung
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