The rebound followed one of the rockiest stretches for technology shares this year. By the close on Thursday the main US indexes had turned positive, even as money kept flowing into safer assets, Semafor reported, with investors questioning whether the AI buildout can hold up while consumers are stretched and inflation stays elevated. The selling had been fiercest overseas, with South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei posting steep declines overnight before the pressure eased in European and US trading. By the close, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq had all finished higher, with health care and materials leading and technology lagging.
Inflation added to the unease. The wholesale inflation gauge for September posted its biggest jump in four years, a reading that sharpened expectations of a Federal Reserve rate increase this month. The report landed a day after consumer price data also ran hotter than forecast. Even so, Treasuries rallied and the 10-year yield fell as investors sought shelter, an unusual reaction to a hot inflation reading.
Much of the anxiety centers on how that buildout is financed. CoreWeave, a data center operator, plunged on Wednesday amid concerns about its borrowing, and its bonds slid, before recovering some ground Thursday after Nvidia chief Jensen Huang voiced support. Semiconductor shares extended a losing streak but trimmed early losses as the session wore on.
The biggest spenders show no sign of pulling back. TSMC said Thursday it was building plants at an "unprecedented pace" and could expand its US footprint further on strong AI demand. The Taiwanese chipmaker posted a record quarterly profit, said it is evaluating Texas as a site beyond Arizona, and confirmed talks about Elon Musk's planned Terafab complex. Its executives also flagged weakness in consumer and price-sensitive segments and said they are planning cautiously for 2027. US earnings season now turns to the big technology names, where expectations remain high.