The S&P 500 index set another intraday high in Thursday’s trading on the strength of healthy advances in semiconductor stocks and upbeat economic data to counter the risk of an early recession. The S&P 500 index was up 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 102 points or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.2%.
To the front was the chip sector; waves of purchasing and selling sent Nvidia to a fresh record high upon a result from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSM, Financial). The latter is a key Nvidia (NVDA, Financial) and other technology companies supplier, and its shares rose 13% after the company posted better-than-expected Q3 numbers and raised Q4 revenue guidance. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, Financial) also was up 1%.
The market’s uplift was driven not only by positive data from the commodities front but also by new data that reported ongoing consumer strength in the economy. Retail sales for the month of September were higher than estimations, with a 0.4% increase on a forecasted 0.3%. Excluding autos, sales increased by 0.5%, which is much higher than the expected 0.1%. Also, new applications for unemployment benefits for the week ended October 12 also declined, sealing the robust economy.
Simplify Asset Management Chief Strategist Michael Green pointed to the market’s bounce back more as a sign that things are getting back to normal than an actual shift towards better fortunes for the economy. He pointed out that although the figures looked robust on the face of it, seasonality was an influencing factor and the raw numbers are not very dynamic on a year-on-year basis. However, the current market trend can be stated as optimistic or bullish, pointing to the fact that investors remain optimistic regardless of constantly changing market signals.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
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