Chipmaker Surge and Retail Boost Propels Wall Street to Record Highs

Wall Street hits record highs, fueled by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's positive forecast and stronger-than-expected rises in retail sales. The tech sector led gains with chipmaker shares soaring, while financials improved and healthcare stocks weighed down the Dow. Strong economic data supports a robust U.S. consumer and healthy growth, amid expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut.

Record highs were achieved by Wall Street on Thursday as both the S&P 500 and the Dow touched new intraday peaks, spurred by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's optimistic forecast. A significant rise in retail sales further emphasized the strength of the U.S. consumer, bolstering investor sentiment.

The world's leading contract chipmaker, TSMC, exceeded market expectations with its profit, predicting a promising surge in fourth-quarter revenue driven by artificial intelligence chip demand. TSMC's U.S.-listed shares climbed by 11.7%, sparking gains in other tech stocks as Broadcom added 4% and Intel increased by 1.9%, lifting the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index by 2.7%.

Despite these gains, healthcare stocks declined as Elevance Health's forecast cut led to a 14.2% drop in its shares. Concurrently, retail sales in September rose by 0.4%, showing robust economic growth in the third quarter, supporting predictions of a potential Federal Reserve rate cut. However, with high earnings expectations and looming election volatility, analysts anticipate possible market instability.

(With inputs from agencies.)