Chipmakers Drive Wall Street Gains Amid Earnings Season

Wall Street's main indexes rose on Friday as chipmakers led the gains during a volatile week marking the fourth-quarter earnings season's start. Despite modest weekly losses for U.S. stocks, memory chipmakers like Micron and Seagate surged, highlighting confidence in AI-driven chip demand.

Wall Street's key indexes gained on Friday, driven by a surge in chipmakers during a week marked by the onset of the fourth-quarter earnings season.

Memory chip giants, including Micron, Seagate Technology, and SanDisk, saw significant increases, capitalizing on their strong performances since 2025. The iShares Semiconductor ETF rose by 2.1%, boosting a 12% rally for the year, far surpassing the Nasdaq 100's 1.2% increase, signaling robust investor confidence in AI-stimulated chip demand.

Despite setting new records on Monday, the S&P 500 and Dow experienced minor losses throughout the week. Additionally, concerns over a proposed credit card interest cap at 10% affected financials, amidst solid earnings from top banks.