(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened higher, driven by semiconductor-related stocks after TSMC’s optimistic forecasts and by a series of economic indicators, including September retail sales, which reflect the strength of the American economy.

In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 67.43 points, or 0.16% to 43,145.13 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.56% to 5,875.27 points.

The Nasdaq Composite in turn gained 0.92%, or 168.65 points, to 18,535.72.

Profit at TSMC, the world’s largest chipmaker, beat estimates thanks to demand for artificial intelligence chips, supporting its U.S.-listed stock on Thursday (7.8%) and, in in its wake, those of Nvidia, Broadcom, Intel and Arm Holdings which increased from 0.5% to 2.7%.

TSMC’s numbers were particularly well received by the market, following recent losses suffered by the technology sector due to concerns over demand for artificial intelligence.

Indicators published shortly before markets open also contribute to optimism.

U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% month-on-month in September, beating the 0.3% forecast of economists polled by Reuters.

“The strong performance of retail sales continues to show how resilient the U.S. consumer is, given that it has somehow steered us away from a recession over the past two years,” said Keith Buchanan, an analyst at Global Investments.

Unemployment claims also fell in the United States during the week ending October 12 to 241,000, although the number of Americans filing new claims could remain high in the short term due to the effects of hurricanes Helene and Milton. .

Business conditions in the Philadelphia region improved much more than expected in October, according to the monthly survey by the local branch of the Federal Reserve.

Signs of economic resilience are unlikely to discourage the Federal Reserve (Fed) from cutting interest rates again at its November meeting, but they will help bolster expectations of a 25 basis point cut borrowing costs, as the US central bank began its easing cycle last month with an unusually large cut of 50 basis points in its key rate.

In terms of values, Blackstone, which exceeded Wall Street expectations in the third quarter on Thursday, gained 6%.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid fell more than 15% after it said on Wednesday it expected a bigger loss than expected in the third quarter.

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(Written by Diana Mandiá)

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