US Stocks Close Higher, PHLX Surges 3.6%
All four major U.S. indexes closed higher on Tuesday, the 27th, as AI-themed buying returned and falling international oil prices lifted sentiment. The Nasdaq rose 308.43 points, or 1.18%, to close at 26477.81; the S&P 500 rose 45.83 points, or 0.60%, to close at 7722.60, rising for a second straight session; the Dow Jones Industrial Average, dragged down by a plunge in Boeing, edged up only 15.99 points to close at 52377.57. The PHLX Semiconductor Index surged 399.04 points, or 3.60%, to close at 11482.51, the strongest performer, providing positive momentum for Taiwan's electronics heavyweights.
Night Session Surges 774 Points to Fuel Rebound
Taiwan's benchmark index closed the previous session at 46096.23, up 54.8 points, or 0.12%, with turnover of NT$976.55 billion. TAIFEX night session jumped 774 points, and TSMC futures rose NT$42 after hours, pointing to a continued rebound at today's open. The focus is on whether TSMC shares can follow higher at the open, a key indicator for driving a recovery in electronics heavyweights and pushing the broader market higher. AI servers, memory and related electronics supply chains could also become focal points for fund inflows.
AI Supply Chain Strengthens, Positioning Diverges
U.S. tech stocks were lifted by hotter AI investment sentiment after Claude developer Anthropic filed for a listing. Broadcom rose 4% after D.A. Davidson analyst upgraded its rating from Neutral to Buy and raised the target price from $350 to $400; AMD surged 5.45%, Nvidia rose 0.90% to close at $217.94 per share, Applied Materials rose 2.15%, and Qualcomm rose 2.54%. Nvidia announced a $3 billion investment in Meta's recently announced stock offering, with Meta to expand deployment of Nvidia hardware to support AI agent services. Memory names rose in tandem, with Micron up 2.77%, Western Digital surging 6.95%, SanDisk up 3.92%, Seagate up 3.67%, and SK Hynix ADR up 1.92%. On positioning, the three major institutional investors posted combined net buying of NT$3.17 billion, with investment trusts net buying NT$23.6 billion, foreign investors net selling NT$8.04 billion, and dealers net selling NT$12.4 billion. Margin balances fell NT$10.493 billion, indicating partial withdrawal of short-term leveraged funds.
Focus on Earnings and Fed Decision
Megacap tech performance was mixed, with Apple up 0.93%, Alphabet up 1.19% and Amazon up 1.61%, while Meta fell 1.64% and Microsoft slipped 0.22%. Boeing plunged nearly 11% on slower-than-expected 737 MAX production ramp progress and a weaker long-term cash flow outlook. Alphabet and Microsoft report earnings on Wednesday, followed by Amazon on Thursday, with markets focused on AI capital spending and profitability. The U.S. Federal Reserve will announce its rate decision this week, with markets broadly expecting rates to stay on hold. International oil prices fell on signs of possible easing tensions in the Persian Gulf. Lun Yuan investment adviser analyst Wang Chun-sheng believes U.S. tech stocks have reignited momentum and consecutive sharp declines in listed margin balances favor a rebound. Today, memory, low-orbit satellite, robotics, PCB, IC packaging and testing, and financials can be watched. Investors can rotate out of weak holdings into strong ones and buy quality stocks in batches on dips, while avoiding chasing highs and staying alert to volatility.